The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Fiscal Policy
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1624
INTRODUCER: Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government;
Regulated Industries Committee; and Senator Collins
SUBJECT: Energy Resources
DATE: February 26, 2024 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Schrader Imhof RI Fav/CS
2. Schrader/Davis Betta AEG Fav/CS
3. Schrader Yeatman FP Favorable
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/CS/SB 1624 amends several sections of Florida law and creates new statutory provisions
relating to energy resources. In summary, the bill:
Creates limitations on local government regulation of natural gas resiliency and reliability
infrastructure.
Revises energy guidelines for public businesses, deleting requirements relating to the Florida
Climate-Friendly Preferred Products List, and state vehicle fuel efficiency.
Requires the Department of Management Services (DMS) to develop the Florida Humane
Preferred Products List to identify certain products that appear to be largely made free from
forced labor.
Adds “development districts” to a provision that prohibits a municipality, county, special
district, or other political subdivision of the state from enacting or enforcing a resolution,
ordinance, rule, code, or policy or taking any action that restricts or prohibits or has the effect
of restricting or prohibiting the types or fuel sources of energy production which may be
used, delivered, converted, or supplied by utilities, gas districts, natural gas transmission
companies, and certain liquefied petroleum gas dealers, dispensers, and cylinder exchange
operators.
Adds “development districts” to a provision that prohibits a municipality, county, special
district, or other political subdivision of the state from restricting or prohibiting the use of an
appliance using the fuels or energy types supplied by the entities above.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1624 Page 2
Requires all electric cooperatives and municipal electric utilities to enter into and maintain
certain mutual aid agreements and submit an annual attestation to qualify to receive state
financial assistance for disaster recovery.
Permits the Public Service Commission (PSC) to approve upon petition by a public utility,
certain electric vehicle (EV) charging programs if the PSC determines that the public utility’s
general body of ratepayers, as a whole, will not pay to support recovery of its electric vehicle
charging investment by the end of the useful life of the assets dedicated to the electric vehicle
charging service.
Requires the PSC to conduct an annual proceeding to determine prudently incurred natural
gas facilities relocation costs for cost recovery by natural gas public utilities through a charge
separate from the utility’s base rates.
Substantially revises legislative intent as it pertains to part II, of ch. 377, F.S., which provides
energy resource planning and development policies for Florida. The revisions also provide
updated energy policy goals and state policies as they relate to energy resource planning and
development.
Eliminates a requirement that the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
(DACS), when analyzing the energy data collected and preparing long-range forecasts of
energy supply and demand, forecasts contain plans for the development of renewable energy
resources and reduction in dependence on depletable energy resources, particularly oil and
natural gas. Instead, such forecasts must contain an analysis of the extent to which domestic
energy resources, including renewable energy sources, are being utilized in the state. It also
revises certain related considerations and assessments.
Revises the duties of the DACS as it relates to the promotion of the development and use of
renewable energy sources. The section deletes a requirement that the DACS establish goals
and strategies for increasing the use of renewable energy in the state.
Repeals the Florida Energy and Climate Protection Act (Renewable Energy and Energy-
Efficient Technologies Grants Program), Florida Green Government Grants Act, Energy
Economic Zone Pilot Program, and Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds provisions.
Provides procedures for handling existing applications and contracts relating to the above
repealed programs.
Prohibits the construction, operation, or expansion of offshore wind energy facilities and
wind turbines located on real property within one mile of the state’s coastline or on waters of
the state.
Requires the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to review federal wind energy
lease applications and signify DEP’s approval or objection.
Increases the minimum length of an intrastate natural gas pipeline that requires certification
under the Natural Gas Transmission Pipeline Siting Act from 15 miles to 100 miles.
Prohibits homeowners associations from disallowing certain types or fuel sources of energy
production and appliances that use such fuels in their governing documents.
Directs the PSC to conduct an assessment, in consultation with the Department of Emergency
Management (DEM), of the security and resiliency of the state’s electric grid and natural gas
facilities against both physical threats and cyber threats. The provision also requires the PSC
to submit a report to the Legislature.
Directs the PSC to study and evaluate, in partnership with public utilities and in consultation
with the DEM, the technical and economic feasibility of using advanced nuclear power
technologies, including small modular reactors (SMRs), to meet the state’s electrical power
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1624 Page 3
needs, and research means to encourage and foster the installation and use of such
technologies at military installations in the state. The provision also requires the PSC to
submit a report to the Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of
Representatives.
Directs the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), in consultation with the Office of
Energy within the DACS, to study and evaluate the potential development of hydrogen
fueling infrastructure, including fueling stations, to support hydrogen-powered vehicles that
use the state highway system. The provision also requires the FDOT to submit a report to the
Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Makes conforming changes.
The bill may have a significant negative fiscal impact on state expenditures. See Section V.,
Fiscal Impact Statement.
The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2024.
II. Present Situation:
Florida Energy Consumption and Generation
Florida is the third-largest energy consuming state; however, it uses less energy per capita than
all but six other states. Florida is also the second-largest producer of electricity in the nation
(behind Texas). Natural gas is, by far, the largest energy source in Florida, and has been since
2003 when it surpassed coal.1 As of 2022, the energy sources, as a percentage of all energy
sources in Florida, are as follows:
Natural gas: 69.55 percent
Nuclear: 11.16
Coal: 6.40
Renewables: 5.76
Other: 5.04
Firm Inter-Region Interchange: 1.91
Distillate (i.e. fuel oil/diesel fuel): 0.16
Residual: 0.01
Non-utility generators: less than 0.012
Renewable Energy
Section 366.91, F.S., establishes a number of renewable policies for the state. The purpose of
these policies, as established in statute, states that it is in the public interest to promote the
development of renewable energy resources in this state.3 Further, the statute is intended to
1
United States Energy Information Administration, Florida Profile Analysis, Feb. 15, 2024,
https://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.php?sid=FL#:~:text=Solar%20energy%20and%20biomass%20provide,generation%20
(last visited Feb. 20, 2024).
2
Florida Reliability Coordinating Council, 2023 Regional Load & Resource Plan FRCC-MS-PL-502, Version: 1, s-18, Jun.
6, 2023 (available at: https://www.floridapsc.com/pscfiles/website-
files/PDF/Utilities/Electricgas/TenYearSitePlans//2023/FRCC_RLRP.pdf).
3
Section 366.91(1), F.S
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1624 Page 4
encourage fuel diversification to meet Florida’s growing dependency on natural gas for electric
production, minimize the volatility of fuel costs, encourages investment within the state, improve
environmental conditions, and make Florida a leader in new and innovative technologies.4
The section defines “renewable energy” to mean:
[E]lectrical energy produced from a method that uses one or more of the following
fuels or energy sources: hydrogen produced or resulting from sources other than fossil
fuels, biomass, solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy, ocean energy, and
hydroelectric power. The term includes the alternative energy resource, waste heat,
from sulfuric acid manufacturing operations and electrical energy produced using
pipeline-quality synthetic gas produced from waste petroleum coke with carbon
capture and sequestration.5
The section defines “biogas” as “a mixture of gases produced by the biological
decomposition of organic materials which is largely comprised of carbon dioxide,
hydrocarbons, and methane gas,”6 and “biomass” as “a power source that is comprised of,
but not limited to, combustible residues or gases from forest products manufacturing,
waste, byproducts, or products from agricultural and orchard crops, waste or coproducts
from livestock and poultry operations, waste or byproducts from food processing, urban
wood waste, municipal solid waste, municipal liquid waste treatment operations, and
landfill gas.”7
Biofuels
Unlike other renewable energy sources, biomass can be converted directly into a liquid fuel.
These fuels, called “biofuels” can be used for transportation fuel and other energy uses. The most
common types of biofuels currently in use are ethanol and biodiesel.8
Ethanol is made from various plant material and is an alcohol blending agent mixed with
traditional gasoline to reduce emissions. The most common type is E10 (10 percent ethanol and
90 percent gasoline) and it is approved for use in most conventional gasoline powered engines.
Some vehicles, called flexible fuel vehicles, are designed to run on E15 (15 percent ethanol and
85 percent gasoline). Approximately 97 percent of gasoline sold in the United States has some
amount of ethanol in it. The most common method of producing ethanol is through fermentation,
where microorganisms metabolize plant sugars to produce ethanol.9
Biodiesel differs from ethanol in that it is meant as a cleaner-burning replacement for
conventional (i.e. petroleum-based) diesel fuel. It is derived, generally, from new and used
4
Id.
5
Section 366.91(2)(e), F.S.
6
Section 366.91(2)(a), F.S.
7
Section 366.91(2)(b), F.S.
8
United States Department of Energy, Biofuel Basics, https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/biofuel-
basics#:~:text=The%20two%20most%20common%20types,first%20generation%20of%20biofuel%20technology (last
visited Feb. 1, 2024).
9
Id.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1624 Page 5
vegetable oils and animal fats. Biodiesel is produced by combining alcohol with fats.10 Biodiesel
is generally blended with petroleum-based diesel for consumption as a vehicle fuel.11
Renewable diesel fuel is a growing industry. The fuel, chemically similar to petroleum-based
diesel fuel, can be used as a “drop-in” replacement for petroleum-based diesel fuel and can be
seamlessly blended, transported, and even co-processed with petroleum-based diesel.12 The
production method for renewable diesel fuel is more complex than biodiesel and most is
produced by hydrogenation of triglycerides, a similar process to that used for desulfurization of
petroleum diesel. Other methods can also be used for renewable diesel production, including
gasification and pyrolysis.13
Other biofuels, including renewable heating oil, renewable jet fuel (sustainable aviation fuel,
alternative jet fuel, biojet), renewable naphtha, and renewable gasoline are also currently in
various stages of development and commercial implementation.14
Natural Gas and Renewable Natural Gas
Natural gas is a fossil energy source which forms beneath the earth’s surface. Natural gas
contains many different compounds, the largest of which is methane. 15 Conventional natural gas
is primarily extracted from subsurface porous rock reservoirs via gas and oil well drilling and
hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as “fracking.” The term renewable natural gas (RNG)
refers to biogas that has been upgraded to use in place of fossil fuel natural gas (i.e. conventional
natural gas).16
Section 366.91, F.S., identifies sources for producing RNG as a potential source of renewable
energy.17 The section specifically defines renewable natural gas as anaerobically generated
biogas, landfill gas, or wastewater treatment gas refined to a methane content of 90 percent or
greater. Under the definition, such gas may be used as a transportation fuel or for electric
generation, or is of a quality capable of being injected into a natural gas pipeline.
Biogas used to produce RNG comes from various sources, including municipal solid waste
landfills, digesters at water resource recovery facilities, livestock farms, food production
10
Id.
11
United States Energy Information Administration, Biofuels explained, Jul. 19, 2022,
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/biofuels/ (last visited Feb. 1, 2024).
12
United States Energy Information Administration. Biofuels explained: Biodiesel, renewable diesel, and other biofuels, Jul.
29, 2022, https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/biofuels/biodiesel-rd-other-basics.php, (last visited Feb. 1, 2024).
13
Id.
14
United States Energy Information Administration, Biofuels explained, supra note 11.
15
United States Energy Information Administration, Natural gas explained, Dec. 27, 2022,
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/natural-gas/ (last visited Feb. 1, 2024)
16
Environmental Protection Agency, Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP): Renewable Natural Gas,
https://www.epa.gov/lmop/renewable-natural-gas (last visited Feb. 1, 2024).
17
Section 366.91(2)(e), F.S., defines “renewable energy, in part, as energy produced from biomass. Section 366.91(2)(b),
F.S., defines “biomass” in part, as “a power source that is comprised of, but not limited to, combustible residues or gases
from…waste, byproducts, or products from agricultural and orchard crops, waste or coproducts from livestock and poultry
operations, waste or byproducts from food processing, urban wood waste, municipal solid waste, municipal liquid waste
treatment operations, and landfill gas.” RNG would be such a combustible gas.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1624 Page 6
facilities, and organic waste management operations.18 Raw biogas has a methane content
between 45 and 65 percent.19 Once biogas is captured, it is treated in a process called
conditioning or upgrading, which involves the removal of water, carbon dioxide, hydrogen
sulfide, and other trace elements. After this process, the nitrogen and oxygen content is reduced
and the RNG has a methane content comparable to natural gas and is thus a suitable energy
source in applications that require pipeline-quality gas, such as vehicle applications.20
RNG meeting certain standards, qualifies as an advanced biofuel under the Federal Renewable
Fuel Standard Program.21 This program was enacted by Congress in order to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions by reducing reliance on imported oil and expanding the nation’s renewable fuels
sector.22
Hydrogen Fuel
The pro