James Fenton, director of the Florida Solar Energy Center, was one of several experts to participate in a roundtable discussion on renewable energy policies in Florida with WMFE-FM radio host Mark Simpson. Simpsonβs show βIntersectionβ airs this week.
FSEC is a ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ research institute that brings together researchers in alternative transportation systems, hydrogen fuel and fuel cells, energy-efficient buildings and solar energy.
At ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½, a number of sustainable energy initiatives are taking place. They include a recent national competition aimed at having buildings reduce their energy use, in which ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ earned high marks for reducing energy consumption by 31 percent in Parking Garage C. The Environmental Protection Agency sponsors the contest every year.
Construction is continuing on ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs new $10.2 million natural gas plant. The new plant will run on a 30-foot-long Mitsubishi engine powered by natural gas, and ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ will save about $2.5 million a year in fuel costs. Energy produced by the natural gas will reduce ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs environmental impact by 30 percent.