If . In the midst of Florida Power & Lights push to dismantle a key rooftop solar policy in the state, new documents reveal that senior executives at the utility are closely connected to an ongoing election scandal and subsequent investigations, having personally coordinated with the consultants who moved millions of dollars to promote three spoiler candidates in 2020 state senate races. This story was originally published January 27, 2022, 6:00 AM. FPLs relationship with two political nonprofit committees Grow United and Lets Preserve the American Dream has come under recent scrutiny as part of a criminal investigation by the Miami-Dade County state attorney into a ghost candidate scandal. Eskamani of Orlando said Baezs response left her unsatisfied. Since then, theyve become skilled at creating and maintaining wind farms, and today their power reaches far beyond Florida. The state senate districts were 9, 37, and 39. He was previously chief financial officer of NextEra Energy, a partner at Deloitte & Touche and an accounting fellow at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Im interested in what happened with FPL, but Im also looking at whether this cascade of revelations could harm the utilitys parent company, NextEra Energy, which happens to be the largest generator of renewable energy in the United States, and maybe the world. NextEra, also based in Florida, has become a giant by racking up profits from its regulated utility business at FPL and using that as a foundation to build wind, solar and battery projects across. The documents also showed that Silagy coordinated with the political consultants to steer campaign contributions made through nonprofits in past elections. If trust in NextEra dwindlesand seemingly it has, if stock recommendations are anything to judge bypeople might be less willing to consider the installation of a wind farm in their community. Their power over utilities in Florida was challenged by legislation proposed by the Democratic Senator of Florida, Jos Javier Rodrguez, in 2019. Simpson, a longtime beneficiary of FPL political giving, may have spent NextEra-originatedfunds, with FPL knowledge, to pay off individuals with knowledge of his illegitimate child inwhat was reportedly known internally as Operation Ginger. The goal of these efforts appearto be to prevent the public from learning about the Senate Presidents indiscretions prior to hisascension to the top position in the state Legislature. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. That said, he acknowledges there is a cognitive dissonance between NextEras status as a major player in the transition to renewable energy and FPLs status as a utility that relies heavily on fossil fuels, with a reputation for fighting dirty in defending its interests. Watch the Florida Legislature live: The Florida Channel, a public affairs programming service funded by the Legislature, livestreams coverage at thefloridachannel.org. The bill outlines a reduction to the credit, which would dramatically limit the number of people who could affordably lease or buy panels. The scandal ballooned last week when three more arrests were made, including of Ben Paris, the chair of the Seminole County (FL) Republican Executive Committee. Get a daily email of our original, groundbreaking stories written by our national network of award-winning reporters. The scandal brings light to the measures electric companies will go to in order to protect their profits even those that claim to be in favor of pursuing renewable energy. Internal documents obtained by the Sentinel show that Silagy used a pseudonym email, Theodore Hayes, to communicate with consultant Jeff Pitts, who controlled Grow United, with the memos noting that one goal was to minimize all public reporting of entities and activities.. I dont think youre going to see any headlines like that (with Pimentel). Pimentel was CEO of NextEra Energy Resources, the companys unregulated arm focused on renewable power, for eight years before retiring in 2019. In one Orlando Sentinel article, Silagy was accused of working with a political consultant to harass a Democratic state senator who introduced legislation unfavorable to FP&L. 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 . I believe that NextEra is a respectable developer, said Jeremy Welch, testifying at the hearing on behalf of a union that supports the project. The Defendant, NextEra Energy Resources, LLC ("NextEra"), is the largest wind energy generator in the world and operates over 100 wind energy facilities nationwide. When McClure first introduced the concept of changing Floridas net metering policy in 2019, he had already taken over $20,000 from investor-owned utilities. Since 2020, Florida-based news organizations have reported about FP&Ls role in questionable political and campaign finance-related activity. The no-party candidate, Alexis Alex Rodriguez, who did not campaign, received more than 6,000 votes. Alabama political firm and former NextEra consultant Matrix LLC, led by Joe Perkins, sued Canopy LLC, another firm allegedly working with NextEra. Fargo, ND, USA / The Mighty 790 KFGO | KFGO. Armando Pimentel, who held executive roles in finance at NextEra for more than a decade before retiring in 2019, is coming back in what investors hope will mark the end of FP&Ls era of political and campaign-finance scandals. The flight took place just prior to Artiles push on legislation that would have allowed NextEra to charge its Florida customers for out-of-state exploratory fracking. "I don't expect much of a change, leaving aside all of the stuff going on with the outgoing CEO," Patterson said. Political editor Emily L. Mahoney will send you a rundown on local, state and national politics coverage every Thursday. Artiles checkered past culminated with his resignation from office in 2017 after facing pressure over multiple scandals, including alcohol-fueled racial slurs directed at black members of the Florida Legislature. John Ketchum, a 19-year veteran of NextEra Energy, is named president and chief executive officer (CEO), NextEra Energy.He will report directly to the NextEra Energy, Inc. Board of Directors. Despite its position as a renewable energy generator, the company has been shrouded in controversy the most recent of which has to do with Florida Power & Light (FPL), one of the companies operating beneath them. NextEras executives and shareholders have reason to worry, but its too soon to know how much. Republican state legislators Sen. Jennifer Bradley and Rep. Lawrence McClure have filed identical legislation in the Senate and House that would end the states current net metering policy, which determines the credit that FPL and other utilities must pay to solar customers for excess solar energy that they generate and sell back to the grid. The firm, which also includes consultants Matt Mitchell and Michael Sheehan, came under intense scrutiny for their role in Floridas redistricting and were required to turn in over 1,800 pages of records as part of a lawsuit filed by Fair District voting-rights groups in 2013. 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. Canopy quickly filed its own lawsuit against Matrix. Matrix spent big money on advertising for another candidate with the same last name as Rodrguez to split the vote. 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. FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), a clean energy company widely recognized for its efforts in sustainability, corporate responsibility, ethics and . Republican Ileana Garcia won the election by 32 votes. One part of that is to convert gas-fired power plants to run on hydrogen. The second group, Mothers for Moderation, a DC-based 501(c)(4) dark-money group with over $15 million in revenue, states that its mission is to advocate for policies that benefit women, according to its 2018 IRS filings. Gostons campaign was largely funded by Republicans with ties to Perry, as reported by the Gainesville Sun. "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. 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. Its useless at this time because theres nothing out there and the cars that you do find, everythings gone up in price.. Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Utility Front Group Advertisement Tracker, American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, Gas utilities push RNG and hydrogen to expand fossil fuel infrastructure, AGA uses millions of dollars from utility customers to promote a fossil fuel agenda, Internal documents detail how gas utilities greenwash RNG and hydrogen, Front groups and trade associations funded by gas utilities fight electrification policies, List of deceptive RNG and hydrogen projects, Major investors warn utilities against carbon capture and offsets, obtained and published by Orlando Sentinel, According to reporting from the Orlando Sentinel. In November 2021, for example, the company spent $20 million to ban the 145-mile transmission line needed to transport clean energy in Maine. Artiles has long-standing close connections with FPL, as previously reported by Energy and Policy Institute in 2020 and 2021. Your source for the latest news and stories from NextEra Energy and its subsidiaries. Definition & Eligibility, Norwegian Plans Pricing Move That Royal Caribbean, Carnival Might Follow. Federal agents arrested Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder, along with several lobbyists, on July 21 on charges that the group used $60 million of funds provided by the monopoly utility FirstEnergy Corp. in exchange for passing a law that bailed out that company's nuclear and coal plants. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. 11/30/2021. Jane Marsh is an environmental and sustainability writer. NextEra's renewable arm, NextEra Energy Resources, had about 5,000 employees by the end of 2019, not counting construction jobs for new projectsinformation the company doesn't disclose . 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