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Energy secretary visits Tampa to tout clean power initiatives

Jennifer Granholm said projects like Tampa’s plan for hydroelectric power on the Hillsborough River will help the country transition to clean energy.
 
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm visited Tampa Thursday to tout clean energy initiatives by the Biden administration. She is flanked by Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, left, and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa.
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm visited Tampa Thursday to tout clean energy initiatives by the Biden administration. She is flanked by Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, left, and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa. [ Charlie Frago ]
Published June 2, 2022|Updated June 2, 2022

TAMPA — Standing in the shade of a towering oak with good TV camera sightlines to the Hillsborough River Dam, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told reporters Thursday that the country would arrive at a clean energy future one electric car, solar panel and hydroelectric project at a time.

Part of Granholm’s message had a local component. Tampa, as part of its long-range construction plan, hopes to build two hydroelectric turbines on the river at a cost of about $2 million. The turbines would power up to 75 homes.

Mayor Jane Castor made the pitch for Tampa’s project to receive federal funding. The federal government will consider grants later this year.

Granholm made no commitments, but praised the Tampa project as one of many incremental steps that the country can take to make the leap to clean energy.

Only 3% of American waterways are generating electricity, she said. Half of them could, added the former two-term Michigan governor, a Democrat who was the first woman elected to the office.

Granholm’s visit was described by a Jane Castor aide as a kind of listening tour. She walked on the dam with Castor, who is up for reelection next year, and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, who is running for reelection this fall. Jane Castor walked her dog, Alcadesa, on the dam. The Castors are not related.

Kathy Castor said securing money for Tampa’s hydroelectric project was high on her list of priorities. The Tampa Democrat hopes her support as a member of the House Energy and Commerce committee and as chairperson of the House Select Committee on Climate Change will give the project “a shot in the arm” with federal officials.

“It’s time now to take it to the next level,” Kathy Castor said.

Granholm also said Florida is a prime spot for solar power and emphasized that renewable energy is the cheapest way to produce electricity.

Asked about high gasoline prices, Granholm said President Joe Biden’s administration has taken steps to ease the burden on American drivers, but that the war in Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic had proven challenging.