Bill introduced to have nuclear power included as “clean” energy
By Asjylyn Loder, Times Staff Writer
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So what is "clean" energy? Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, thinks nuclear power should count. The Citrus County legislator proposed a law called the Clean Portfolio Standards Act, S.B. 2328, that would require the state’s utilities to get 20 percent of their power from "clean energy" by 2020. New nuclear power would count in the plan, as would measures to reduce electricity use and encourage conservation. Utilities such as Progress Energy and Florida Power & Light, which plan to invest a combined $30 billion in nuclear, have pushed for a "clean" standard to replace Gov. Charlie Crist’s call for utilities to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable energy by 2020. The renewable energy lobby hotly opposes the inclusion of nuclear, saying it will come at the expense of technologies like solar and wind power.