Six of the nation's 10 largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions are coal-fired power plants in the South, but year after year Southern lawmakers balk at pushing utilities toward cleaner renewable energy. Last month, Republican senators from the South provided about half the votes that defeated federal legislation to require power companies to get 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Nationally, almost half the states have adopted their own renewable mandates, but only one, Texas, is in the South. Southern lawmakers -- responding to heavy lobbying from local utilities -- argue their region isn't conducive to solar or wind power like the sun-baked Southwest or the open plains of the West.

Florida will adopt California's car-pollution standards -- the toughest in the nation -- and become the first state in the Southeast to enact targets for reducing greenhouse gases, under executive orders Gov. Charlie Crist plans to sign Friday in Miami. Drafts of the orders released Tuesday would require the state Secretary of Environmental Protection to immediately adopt rules to limit pollution-causing emissions for cars, diesel engines and electric companies. The orders also impose tough new energy conservation goals for state agencies, demand better fuel efficiency from state-owned vehicles and require state cars to ``use ethanol and biodiesel fuels when locally available.'' But the most optimistic step in Crist's green agenda is the requirement to lower the amount of carbon dioxide in the air to 1990 levels by 2025, and reduce those levels by 80 percent by 2050, in spite of what is expected to be a near doubling of the state's population.

FPL has looked for good Florida sites for wind power since 2005, Ms. Bennett said, and Hutchinson Island "looks like it's worth pursuing." FPL "wants to coexist as good environmental stewards," and will work with all agencies to avoid impact on birds and wildlife. That's good to know, because the information available about wind energy and wildlife indicates that some impact - literally - is inevitable.

The wind may be blowing hard enough in Florida to produce electricity after all. Florida Power & Light Co. said Thursday it intends to explore building a wind-power project near the coastline of St. Lucie County.

Some call it a carbon-free alternative to fossil fuels, but others point to significant environmental costs. In Kansas, where winds blow strong, the push for clean energy includes not only new wind turbines but also new nuclear-power plants as part of a "carbon-free" solution to climate change. It's an idea that may be catching on. At least 11 new nuclear plants are in the design stage in nine states, including Virginia, Texas, and Florida, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute website. But that carbon-free pitch has researchers asking anew: How carbon-free is nuclear power? And how cost-effective is it in the fight to slow global warming? "Saying nuclear is carbon-free is not true," says Uwe Fritsche, a researcher at the Öko Institut in Darmstadt, Germany, who has conducted a life-cycle analysis of the plants. "It's less carbon-intensive than fossil fuel. But if you are honest, scientifically speaking, the truth is: There is no carbon-free energy. There's no free lunch."

FPL Group, whose Florida Power & Light utility is the state’s largest, has expanded by purchasing nuclear plants and building wind farms.

FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE: FPL) and Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) today announced they have reached a joint and amicable agreement to terminate their plans to merge. Constellation Energy initiated a request to end the planned merger, citing continued uncertainty over regulatory and judicial matters in Maryland and the potential for a protracted and open-ended merger review process.

Ten months after the St. Lucie County Commission denied Florida Power & Light an opportunity to build a coal power plant, the Glades County Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved the project. If the state signs off on the deal, the coal power plant would be the first of its kind in the country, FPL said, because it would use new, more environmentally friendly technology that would emit fewer pollutants......FPL said the plant is needed in a state where almost 1,000 new residents move in every day, and where the cost of natural gas, another source of electricity, continues to rise. The plant would also make service more reliable, FPL officials said.

A doctor, a utility board member, a health-care executive and a state lawmaker are among the nine people who will help decide the way Florida gets, produces and uses its energy for the next several decades. They are members of the new Florida Energy Commission, which was created as part of a major energy law passed by state lawmakers this year that is designed to lessen the state's dependence on expensive natural gas and foreign oil. Among other things, the group is charged with figuring out how the state should best develop and use renewable sources of energy, such as solar, wind and biomass. The commission also must decide how to increase the safety and construction standards for utility lines and poles so they can better withstand hurricanes.

If a few people get their way, a few more windmills will dot the Broward landscape in the next few years -- more as a symbol of the county's agrarian roots and a nod to environmental sensitivity than a true alternative power source.

While the Southeast's climate is not conducive to large wind generating farms, other states, like North Dakota, Kansas, Texas and South Dakota, have enormous potential for wind generation. For example, it's estimated that North Dakota's wind resources alone potentially could produce 1.2 trillion megawatts of electricity annually, which is about a third of the current total U.S. output. Although Florida and other Deep South states are not major players in wind generation, the region stands to directly benefit -- as Pensacola has -- from the jobs created as demand for wind generating equipment and devices expands.

With the addition of more than 445 megawatts of new wind capacity since January, FPL Group, the parent company of Florida Power & Light Co., has become the largest owner and operator of wind power in the world.

FPL, the biggest U.S. generator of power from wind, has added 722 megawatts of wind power in the past year, and an additional 330 megawatts are under construction, Chief Executive Officer Lewis Hay, 50, said in the statement.

After years of saying Florida is not a good spot for wind-generated energy, Florida Power & Light is searching for a place to set up an experimental wind-turbine field.

Florida critics of offshore oil drilling say rigs would blight Gulf of Mexico vistas. So imagine a different kind of energy-harnessing rig looming over offshore waters: windmills hundreds of feet tall, with three-prong blades slicing through the sky to generate relatively pollution-free electricity.

MARINELAND -- Florida Power & Light customers may plug into wind energy in Florida sometime next year if a coastal project shows promise.

TALLAHASSEE -- Floridians support lifting a ban on oil drilling 100 miles or more from the state's Gulf Coast beaches by a 51 to 42 percent majority, and many say rising gasoline prices have influenced their approval, a poll released Thursday showed.

The bill would cut red tape for utilities seeking sites for new power plants and lines, provide grants for renewable energy development and offer limited tax incentives for solar energy devices, hydrogen powered vehicles and a pair of alternative fuels, biodiesel and ethanol.

Attorney George Cavros of Fort Lauderdale, FL delivered the below letter to the St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners on behalf of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The letter is in reference to the proposed FP&L wind turbine project on Hutchinson Island.

The below e-mail exchange provides insight into the possible impacts to endangered species, including Sea Turtles, should FPL win approval to erect six utility-scale turbines on Hutchinson Island, a barrier island off the coast of Florida. Originals of both e-mails can be downloaded by clicking on the links below.