Biomass
Given its rich base of natural resources and industry expertise, Florida is poised for leadership in the area of biofuelsÖtransportation fuels made from biomass materials, including cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel, among others. Florida‰s high volume of biomass feedstock accounts for 10% of total U.S. cellulosic biomass output, by some estimates. Indeed, Florida is the nation‰s largest producer of biomass, and leads in the production of sugarcane and citrus, forest residues, and urban wood waste.

Solar Energy
The sun's heat and light provide an abundant source of energy that can be harnessed in many ways. There are a variety of technologies that have been developed to take advantage of solar energy. These include concentrating solar power systems, passive solar heating and daylighting, photovoltaic systems, solar hot water, and solar process heat and space heating and cooling.

Solar power can be used in both large-scale applications and in smaller systems for the home. Businesses and industry can diversify their energy sources, improve efficiency, and save money by choosing solar technologies for heating and cooling, industrial processes, electricity, and water heating. Homeowners can also use solar technologies for heating and cooling and water heating, and may even be able to produce enough electricity to operate "off-grid" or to sell the extra electricity to the utilities, depending on local programs. The use of passive solar heating and daylighting design strategies can help both homes and commercial buildings operate more efficiently and make them more pleasant and comfortable places in which to live and work.

Beyond these localized uses of solar power, utilities and power plants are also taking advantage of the sun's abundant energy resource and offering the benefits to their customers. Concentrating solar power systems allow power plants to produce electricity from the sun on a larger scale, which in turn allows consumers to take advantage of solar power without making the investment in personal solar technology systems.

Solar power technologies, from individual home systems to large-scale concentrating solar power systems, have the potential to help meet growing energy needs and provide diversity and reliability in energy supplies.

Ocean Energy
Researchers at Florida Atlantic University believe they can tap into a clean, natural energy source that could meet much of the state's future power needs: the rushing, undersea waters of the Gulf Stream.

Scientists and engineers at FAU's Center of Excellence in Ocean Energy Technology are currently developing a prototype system of turbines that will be planted on the ocean floor in the Florida Straits, about 150 feet underwater. That puts the turbines directly inTapping the Gulf Stream for Energy the path of the Gulf Stream, a powerful undersea current that flows north past Florida and up the East Coast of North America.

Flowing at a rate of more than eight billion gallons a minute, that steady current carries more than 30 times as much water as all the world's rivers put together. If even part of the Gulf Stream's energy could be tapped, it could eventually generate between four and eight gigawatts of electricity ... enough to power 2.5 million to 5 million homes.

Furthermore, the fact that the deep waters of the Gulf Stream are icy-cold could make the current a reliable cooling source for air-conditioning, a must for most of the year in the Sunshine State.