Florida’s Dependence on Imported Coal

Florida imported all the coal used by its power plants in 2008, resulting in over $1.56 billion leaving the state economy. The document argues that investing in energy efficiency and homegrown renewables, such as biomass, solar, and offshore wind, can reduce this dependence and stimulate local economic growth.

• In 2008, Florida imported 100% of the coal used by its power plants, spending more than $1.56 billion on these imports. This placed Florida as the 4th highest state for total net imports and the 2nd highest for international imports, which cost $307 million.
• Progress Energy Florida is the state's second-largest electricity provider and the largest importer of coal in the state, spending $401 million on imports in 2008. All of these expenditures were attributed to the Crystal River coal plant located north of Tampa.
• Coal accounted for 29.5% of Florida's in-state electricity generation in 2008, despite the state having no internal coal supplies.
• Florida's investment in ratepayer-funded electricity efficiency programs in 2007 was $5.07 per person, which is approximately 17 times less than the state's spending on imported coal.
• Florida possesses renewable energy resources that could technically meet at least 41% of its 2008 power demand, including solar, offshore wind, and biomass from forestry by-products and energy crops like switchgrass.
• The Green Circle Bioenergy facility in Cottondale, opened in 2008, is the world's largest woodpellet manufacturing plant, producing 560,000 tons of biomass fuel annually. However, most of these pellets are exported to Europe rather than fueling local plants.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2010). Florida’s Dependence on Imported Coal. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/UCS-BCBC-factsheet-Florida.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Florida’s Dependence on Imported Coal. 2010. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/UCS-BCBC-factsheet-Florida.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Florida’s Dependence on Imported Coal |date=May 2010 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/UCS-BCBC-factsheet-Florida.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2010floridas, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Florida’s Dependence on Imported Coal}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2010}, month = may, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/UCS-BCBC-factsheet-Florida.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }