Florida Conservative Battle Royale Over Solar Power: Teaclowns Versus The Kochs

WASHINGTON -- A Florida effort to expand access to solar power has become a face-off between two factions of the conservative movement. The group Conservatives for Energy Freedom is blasting Americans for Prosperity for what it called a "campaign of deception" against a ballot initiative that would make it easier for businesses and individuals to install rooftop solar energy. Conservatives for Energy Freedom, along with the state group Floridians for Solar Choice and a number of other organizations from across the political spectrum, have been working to gather enough signatures to get a measure on the November 2016 ballot that would allow direct sale of solar power to consumers.

Currently, Florida is one of only five states in the country where it is illegal to sell power from any source other than electric utilities. But if approved, the ballot measure would allow homes and businesses to install solar and sell excess energy they generate to their neighbors. It would also allow for power purchase agreements, where a solar company pays the upfront cost of installing solar generating systems on homes and businesses, and then the customers pay for the energy they use.

The ballot measure has gathered wide-ranging support, from national groups like the Tea Party Network and the Christian Coalition; in-state conservative groups like the Libertarian Party of Florida and the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida; environmental groups like the Sierra Club's Florida chapter and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy; and business groups like the Florida Retail Federation.

But one foe has emerged: Americans for Prosperity, the conservative political group backed by the Koch brothers. Americans for Prosperity has been pillorying the ballot measure in emails to its supporters. "The Floridians for Solar Choice (FSC) ballot initiative isn’t about freedom or choice -- it’s about money, and using government and taxpayers to prop up the solar industry," the group's Florida chapter wrote in a letter to supporters, which the pro-solar faction provided to reporters.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/09/florida-solar-conservatives_n_6834792.html