According to their mission statement, the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to fostering the growth and prosperity of the business community, while nurturing the quality of life for all those who live, visit and work on the sanctuary islands.
The Sanibel-Captiva Renewable Energy Working Group, a recently formed initiative, is a perfect demonstration of this mission. Chamber CEO John Lai, is one of several involved community leaders connecting local government, utilities, and the business community to develop actions needed to mitigate climate change by setting and pursuing clean energy goals.
Powering Our Green Future: A Community Conversation, a recent event hosted by the Chamber, in partnership with the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation, was spurred by one of the initiatives of the working group- to engage and inform island residents, local government and the business community about the opportunities with clean and renewable energy. The panel included experts from local educational institutions, the business community, utilities, and government and drew more than 100 attendees.
As well as co-hosting, John Lai was one of the presenters. He discussed the economic opportunity associated with clean energy and shared information from CICE’s Florida Jobs and Economic Impact Report. A few clean energy highlights include:
- Florida has 150K clean energy jobs (and growing)
- Clean energy generates $39.7 million in annual property, state, and local taxes via renewable energy projects
Climate and clean energy polling was conducted with the attendees asking several questions to help identify community priorities. In terms of the problems associated with climate change, they cited sea level rise (25%), storms and storm surge (24%), and impacts on water quality and harmful algal blooms (22%). When asked about energy solutions, the community prioritized solar technologies, alternate forms of transportation including electric vehicles, and conservation of energy/reduction of energy demand.
Electrified autonomous vehicles and EV infrastructure are a priority for the chamber as well. The Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce is currently exploring ways to use electrified autonomous vehicles to alleviate congestion and how to expand the number of EV charging stations on the islands.
