Florida Student Green Energy Fund Campaign

Supported by the SEN Florida Organizer, the Florida Youth for Environmental Sustainability Coalition (FL YES) currently runs the Student Green Energy Fund (SGEF) campaign. The SGEF campaign works to implement new student “green” fees at universities across the state of Florida to fund renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. With the potential to generate more than $7.5 million dollars annually, the SGEF campaign aims to establish some of the largest student green fees in the nation.

In early May 2011, students at the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa won a landmark victory in the SGEF campaign. The student body voted in a binding referendum to enact the SGEF on their campus beginning in Fall 2011. The fee is expected to generate over $1,000,000 annually which can only be spent on energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. The USF SGEF fee will be one of the largest fees of its kind in the nation and will make USF a leader in clean energy initiatives in Florida and the Southeast.

To find out more about the SGEF campaign or to get involved with the FL YES coalition, email floridayes[at]climateaction.net.  You can also check out this blog post by Karissa Gerhke of the FL YES coalition.