Why isn’t Central Florida — and East Orlando — the solar technology capital of the universe?
No matter where you stand on the politics of global warming, it is readily apparent that every one of us is a slave to the vagaries of fossil fuel supply, demand and pricing.
When the price at the pumps goes up, we don’t drive as much.
When electric bills go up, we don’t have as much money left over for food, clothing and other necessities.
And anyone who has tried to endure a summer in Florida without air-conditioning knows we need our electricity.
Solar energy is free. So is wind energy. Both have proved to be cost-effective alternatives to fossil fuels, and both are a lot cleaner, safer and more efficient than our current energy sources.
Here in Central and east Florida, we have an abundance of solar energy. Wind energy — in the day-in-day-out volume that makes it marketable — isn’t quite so prolific except in our costal areas, but that’s a start.
Converting solar and wind to electrical power is the trick.
We haven’t yet learned to do it cost-effectively. We need more research and development.
That’s where Central Florida comes into play. We have the second largest university in the U.S. It is home to the Florida Solar Energy Center. The UCF campus is also home to hundreds of brilliant scientists, graduate students and highly motivated undergrads who want to change the world.
We should be changing the world. We should be steering our resources toward research and development to commercialize solar energy. We should value that effort as highly as we value military weapons, telecommunications and health care technologies.
Energy independence is at least as important to our long-range national interests as new and better ways to commit mayhem.
Recently, National Solar Power, a Melbourne company, announced plans to develop the world’s largest solar “farm” somewhere in Florida, possibly Osceola County.
That’s a start!