Community Solar Is About to Get a Surge in Federal Funding. The third-party candidate in that race, Charles Goston, earned about 4,300 votes as an independent, despite being a lifelong Democrat. History of Power: Duke Energy's Century-Old Legacy. Sign up for our newsletter: Get Capitol Buzz, a special bonus edition of The Buzz with Emily L. Mahoney, each Saturday while the Legislature is meeting. relationship with two political nonprofit committees Grow United, shown that as part of the ghost candidate scheme. It was also announced that Silagy, the president and CEO of FPL, will take on the added responsibility of chairman of FPL. Chevron Corp. Chief Executive Michael Wirth on Tuesday said a consolidation between the five top Western oil producers remains a possibility but would face regulatory hurdles. By Mary Ellen Klas NEW YORK(Reuters) The new head of Florida Power & Light (FP&L) has at least one important objective above and beyond running U.S. power giant NextEras crown jewel utility, analysts say: stay out of the headlines. Artiles faces multiple felony charges in connection to an alleged election scheme that successfully ousted Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez, a long-time climate advocate. Every day or once a week, our original stories and digest of the web's top headlines deliver the full story, for free. Florida utilities donated nearly $1.5 million to FRSCC in the 2020 cycle. According to reporting from the Orlando Sentinel, a broad criminal investigation is underway in Miami, with felony charges against former Senator Frank Artiles, and the spoiler candidate in District 37 has pled guilty. We deliver climate news to your inbox like nobody else. Pimentel has been a well-known but low-key power industry figure whose familiarity with NextEra suggests he will provide consistent leadership for with NextEras top subsidiary, said Glenrock Associates utility analyst Paul Patterson. Crews said last month in a call with analysts that he is confident in the companys long-term plan to continue increasing development of wind, solar and batteries. "They probably chose him to be a steady the ship-type figure," said Jack Dearing, an analyst with Washington-based Capstone LLC, which advises investors and companies on policy issues. On Wednesday, FPL spokesperson Chris McGrath denied that FPL was involved in the ghost candidate scheme. JUNO BEACH, Fla., Nov. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE: NEP) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC to . "We have welcomed Armando Pimentel back to our company and have confidence that he will use his deep industry and company experience to further strengthen the FPL organization, NextEra Energy spokesperson David Reuter said. This is not the first cycle that a well-funded third party candidate has upset a campaign by a close margin, and its not the first where those candidates have had at least some connection to Artiles and Florida utilities. A digest of the most pressing climate-related news, released every Tuesday and Friday. Send news tips and questions to dan.gearino@insideclimatenews.org. Though this bill had massive potential to make clean energy more accessible for everyday people, FPL realized their profits would be cut if it were passed. The settlement is the end result of a . Since then, the legislature replaced the previous leader of that office, J.R. Kelly, with a former utility lobbyist, Richard Gentry. Dan Gearino covers the midwestern United States, part of ICNs National Environment Reporting Network. Its useless at this time because theres nothing out there and the cars that you do find, everythings gone up in price.. They probably chose him to be a steady the ship-type figure, said Jack Dearing, an analyst withWashington-based Capstone LLC, which advises investors and companies on policy issues. NextEra Energy Resources, LLC is a clean energy leader and is one of the largest wholesale generators of electric power in the U.S., with approximately 23,900 megawatts of total net generating . According to sources, NextEra subsidiary Florida Power & Light (FPL) funneled millions of dollarto run so-called ghost candidates in Florida state Senate campaigns. The company, which has its main office in Spain, is hinting at job cuts, as Isla Binnie reports for Reuters. Each wind energy facility includes a collection of wind turbines that, put simply, rapidly rotate to create energy. Sources report that the current NextEra investigation may be part of a wider probe into ethicalcomplaints against Simpson, the Senate President, including allegations that campaign moneywas spent to cover the fact that he fathered a child out of wedlock with a lobbyist for the Publixsupermarket chain. Contacted for a response, a NextEra spokesman did not address the issues at FPL or the potential for blowback for the parent company, but he did point to recent comments from Kirk Crews, NextEras chief financial officer. This effort takes a lot of resources to gather and update. NextEra Energy (NE) is currently under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Derek Robins June 26, 2022 Business Enforcement for funneling money through a partisan political committee to a "ghost candidate" scheme that has already resulted in felony charges against five political operatives. Recent revelations about Florida Power & Lights involvement in a dark money scheme to siphon votes away from Senate Democratic candidates prompted its parent company to conduct an internal investigation, NextEra announced at an earnings call on Tuesday. The papers also reported that a member of the Jacksonville City Council who didnt want to sell the citys utility company to FPL was offered a job that was arranged by consultants for FPL in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to resign from the commission. The documents also showed that Silagy coordinated with the political consultants to steer campaign contributions made through nonprofits in past elections. Ramba and his connections to FPL were criticized in 2017 when Artiles traveled on a plane, owned by Ramba, accompanied by John Holley, the director of state legislative affairs for FPL and a former lobbyist with Rambas firm, as reported by the Miami Herald. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. But it will be take more than a change of guard for the utility to shake off the scandals that took place under Silagy, said Schafer. Court documents obtained by the Miami Herald, as part of the state attorneys investigation, have shown that as part of the ghost candidate scheme Lets Preserve the American Dream paid former state Sen. Frank Artiles $125,000 for research and paid Grow United $1.15 million. All three districts received slightly modified versions of the same mailer, which seemed to target liberal-leaning voters in an apparent effort to siphon those votes away from the Democratic candidate. Date. Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. Alabama political firm and former NextEra consultant Matrix LLC, led by Joe Perkins, sued Canopy LLC, another firm allegedly working with NextEra. A former NextEra colleague of Pimentels, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Pimentel was a straightforward, fact-based and driven coworker with a calm temperament. The reporting also found that the same FPL consultants have been involved in setting up front groups to advance FPLs political agenda, and paid activists to promote FPLs interests. The other candidate later revealed that he had been bribed to run. NextEra Energy ( NEE -1.10%) reported its first-quarter 2022 earnings yesterday, and its stock has been tumbling ever since. I believe that NextEra is a respectable developer, said Jeremy Welch, testifying at the hearing on behalf of a union that supports the project. Questions about recent news stories came up during NextEras fourth-quarter earnings call with financial analysts. The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. In California, Wait Lists for EV Rebates Are Long and Some Programs Have Shut Down: California needs to ramp up sales of electric vehicles to take on climate change and reduce air pollution, but consumers are having trouble navigating the states incentives and rebates, as Nadia Lopez reports for CalMatters. Matrix LLC has since sued several former employees, including its ex-CEO Jeff Pitts, accusing them of conspiring with FPL's parent company NextEra Energy Inc. to work on secret projects . While it is not illegal to conspire to place a third-party candidate into an election, paying for that placement and failing to properly report the money involved is. Canopy quickly filed its own lawsuit against Matrix. About Nextera Energy As one of America's largest capital investors in infrastructure, with between $50 and $55 billion in new infrastructure investments planned through 2022, we're helping ensure that the next energy to power our dreams will be American energy. If you liked this article, please donate $5 to keep NationofChange online through November. I dont have very many neighbors talk to me anymore, said Mark Schein, a retired farmer who upset people by leasing his property for the project, along with about a dozen others in the community. In Florida, DeSantis May End the Battle Over Rooftop Solar With a Pen Stroke - Corruption by Cops, In Florida, DeSantis May End the Battle Over Rooftop Solar With a Pen Stroke - Earth2, Utility executive contributions surge in Minnesota state senate race - Energy and Policy Institute, Amid Connections to Ongoing Election Scandals, NextEra Pours Millions into Floridas 2022 Election Cycle - Energy and Policy Institute, Southwest Gas aims to make customers pay for its American Gas Association membership dues. John W. Ketchum Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer NextEra Energy, Inc. Chairman Florida Power & Light Company READ MORE Armando Pimentel President and Chief Executive Officer That scheme included over half a million dollars spent on political mailers promoting the spoiler candidates. This reporting has raised significant questions around the potential of ratepayer funds being used to not only influence elections but to undermine democracy through fake candidate schemes, astroturfing, and attempted bribes, wrote state Reps. Anna Eskamani, Carlos Guillermo Smith, Angie Nixon and Travaris McCurdy. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. NextEra Energy sets industry-leading Real Zero goal to eliminate carbon emissions from its operations, leverage low-cost renewables to drive energy affordability for customers. An abandoned shovel is to blame. Other utilities have tried similar strategies, but none have done it on the scale of NextEra. 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