Auerbach gets commission's backing for resolution asking Gov. Crist to play role in gaining solar-power incentives for municipalities.

Aventura City Commissioner Zev Auerbach has a bone to pick with FPL.

He's already convinced the rest of Aventura's city commission to join him. Now he wants Gov. Charlie Crist's attention.

The issue is incentives for the use of solar energy, or more particularly the lack of them available to municipalities. Auerbach spoke passionately on the issue at the April 14 meeting of the city commission.

According to Auerbach, Aventura was eager to put solar panels on the roof of the $15 million arts and cultural center  it's building at the end of 188th Street. But a feasibility study showed the panels wouldn't pay for themselves for decades. Auerbach concedes that in this down economy, adding the panels wouldn't be prudent.

That has him steamed and he's focused on FPL as the problem.

If the utility extended the same solar panel incentives to municipalities that it offers residential users, Auerbach says, the decision to go solar would be easy. And he thinks Crist is just the man to drive a policy change.

Auerbach won the commission's unanimous approval to forward a resolution to the governor asking him to push the legislature and the state Public Service Commission to extend incentives to municipalities.

Mayor Susan Gottlieb later added that the city would be delighted to put solar panels on the roofs of both its charter school and community center if the incentives become available.