St. Petersburg Chamber Leader Makes the Business Case for Clean Energy in Florida
In a recent op-ed, Tara Lynn Hubbard—chair of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce’s Sustainability & Resilience Committee—joins Clean Energy Help founder Caleb Quaid to lay out a clear, business-driven path forward for energy in Florida.
Watch our interview with Tara Hubbard.
Writing in the Tampa Bay Times (available without a paywall here), Hubbard and Quaid make the case that Florida’s economic future is tied to smart energy investment—leveraging the state’s natural resources, infrastructure, and growing clean energy sector.
“True energy security — the kind that keeps our lights on during hurricanes and stabilizes our monthly bills — cannot be found at the bottom of the Gulf. It is found in a resilient, diversified energy grid, powered by distributed clean energy technologies.”
A Practical, Business-First Framework
One recommendation stands out: prioritize energy investments with low operating costs and long asset lives.
For chamber and economic development leaders, that means:
Lower long-term energy costs
Reduced exposure to fuel price volatility
More skilled, local jobs
It’s a pragmatic approach that aligns with how businesses think about risk, competitiveness, and growth.
A Call for Business Leadership
In her conversation with CICE, Hubbard—who also runs a family-owned tourism business on Florida’s Gulf Coast—underscored the role chambers can play in advancing these conversations.
She describes chambers as a “container for connection,” uniquely positioned to share best practices across the business community, connect members with emerging energy opportunities, and elevate business perspectives in state and federal policy discussions.
Importantly, she notes that while energy conversations are often led by environmental or technical stakeholders, the business voice brings a critical and underutilized perspective—one that can help move clean energy forward in a durable, bipartisan way.
Read the full op-ed: Here’s why it’s Florida’s moment to lead on renewable energy: ‘No Drilling’ is not a strategy
