Florida voters reject anti-solar constitutional amendment

Voters in Florida on Tuesday rejected the Amendment 1, a solar ballot initiative backed by local utilities that would have made it more costly for homeowners to install solar panels on their roofs.

The proposed amendment fell short of the 60% needed to pass.

“Today, as a coalition representing every part of Florida’s political spectrum, we defeated one of the most egregious and underhanded attempts at voter manipulation in this state’s history,” said Tory Perfetti, chairman of Floridians for Solar Choice, a newly-formed coalition that opposed the measure.

The text of the amendment established that Floridians would have the right to own or lease solar equipment installed on their property. However, opponents claim that it would have actually allowed state utilities to levy additional fees on solar customers and thus limit the growth of the segment.

“For the second time this year, Florida voters have seen the light – first by supporting Amendment 4 this summer lowing burdensome taxes on solar power and now by defeating the utility-backed attempt to choke off customer-owned solar with the deceptively-worded Amendment 1,” said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and board member of Floridians for Solar Choice.

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