Understanding the History of the Gemini Project: Official Background & the Austin City Council (Ed. note: The following is an official record of the course of events that have brought us to Thursday's meeting, as well as background information on the group itself. It is meant for documentary purposes and for those who, like me, do not constantly follow Austin City Council news. Skip down to the next section if you are interested in a discussion of the pros and cons of the policies of the proposed power plant). Item #16 on the Austin City Council's March 5, 2009 agenda reads as follows: Authorize award, negotiation, and execution of a contract with GEMINI SOLAR DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, LLC, San Francisco, CA, to purchase up to 30 megawatts of solar-generated power over a 25-year term at an estimated annual amount of $10,000,000, for an estimated total contract amount of $250,000,000. Funding will be provided through the Electric Fuel Charge revenue or future Green Choice revenue. Best evaluated proposal of 15 proposals received. Gemini has agreed to provisions of the Third Party MBE/WBE Subcontracting agreements. SMBR will work with Gemini on expenditures related to this project. Recommended by the Electric Utility Commission.
Following a link on the city's website to "backup material" we get a little more detail on the project (for those who aren't familiar with the acronym, "AE" stands for "Austin Energy" -- who is in charge of providing electricity to the City of Austin): This contract will provide AE with 30 megawatts (MW) of capacity from a solar photovoltaic generating plant to be built on approximately 350 acres of City-owned land near the town of Webberville. This purchase offers competitively priced renewable energy and environmental attributes that will help AE meet its goal of receiving 30% of its energy from renewable resources by 2020, including 100 MW from solar. The new solar plant, which is expected to come online in late 2010 will diversify AE’s renewable portfolio with additional non-wind resources that will not be subject to transmission congestion issues. The contract will obligate AE to purchase the full plant output up to 30MW over a 25 year period, providing enough solar energy to power approximately 5,000 homes each year.
The item was brought up during the February 12 meething of the Austin City Council. At the time, Councilmember Mike Martinez raised some questions about potential ideas to reduce costs and expand the potential output of a solar project that came to Austin. As the minutes of the meeting reflect, the Council unanimously decided to postpone the decision until the March 5th meeting: This item was postponed to March 5, 2009 on Council Member Martinez' motion, Mayor Wynn's second on a 7-0 vote. Staff was directed to include large utility users in further discussions and to provide a proposal to Council that includes some of the ideas shared today to reduce cost and impact.
The Gemini Solar Development Company is part of a joint venture project with MMA Renewable Ventures and Suntech. Suntech is a Chinese solar panel maker that has recently expanded its investments into the United States. Based on reports in Greentech Media and the Associated Press, the Austin contract would be among the first projects the company pursues in the United States. The company... ...makes mono- and multicrystalline silicon solar cells and assembles them into panels. It also is installing factory equipment for making thin films using a combination of amorphous silicon plus microcrystalline silicon. The company expects to ship 15 megawatts to 20 megawatts of thin films, mostly in the second half of 2009.
The solar energy industry is among those that continue to boom, both as the technological possibilities for solar energy expand and as an economic market for the industry develops around the world. By all accounts, Suntech appears to be one of the largest players in the solar energy industry, which most likely explains why they are the most cost competitive among the fifteen bidders that came before the City of Austin. In a new and still relatively fledgling industry, it appears encouraging to go into business with a company that clearly has already invested tremendous capital and resources into its specific sector. However, it still is worth asking -- are there better opportunities out there if Austin waits? 30MW of Renewable Energy: A Big Deal, or Too Little Bang for the Buck? Ed. note: With the relatively unexciting history of the project aside, let's look at what the actually project is like. I'll be borrowing heavinly from Public Citizen's blog TexasVox, as well as other general resources throughout the piece. What exactly is the Gemini project? Sarah, from Public Citizen, answers ably: At 30 MW, the proposed solar plant would be the largest utility-scale photovoltaic array in the nation, and the 6th biggest solar plant in the world.
It should be highlighted that the plant has a 30MW rated capacity, but will not produce 30MW of power on average. Rated capacity is the highest amount of energy the plant could be expected to produce at full volume -- basically, at "all systems go." Capacity factors for solar installations in Texas are generally under 25% -- that means the plant can be expected to produce about 25% of its rated capacity. However, the fact that the solar plant will be in Webberville -- and not, say, in West Texas -- means that the transfer of power will not have to occur over that great of a distance, and the city will have less concerns about congestion on transmission lines. The 30MW is aimed at helping Austin reach its targets for renewable energy production by 2020. Again, from TexasVox: The City plans to get 100 MW of its power from solar energy by 2020. The first goal in this process was to install 15 MW of solar power by 2007. We missed that stepping stone — Roger said we currently have 1.5 MW of solar installed on rooftops throughout Austin. The next goal in line is to get 30 MW by 2010. If the proposed project is approved, and built within the expected 18 months, Austin will be right on schedule to meet that goal.
While the project is supposed to help Austin meet its goals, there are serious questions about whether or not we could be getting more energy for a smaller cost. The Gemini project is expected to cost the city $10 million a year for the next 25 years; though, many of those costs will be upfront installation costs that Gemini will assume and that we will be able to repay over time. Still, there is no question that the proposed project isn't the best thing out there today. Concentrated solar power (CSP) technology is the way of the future, and the next time the City of Austin pursues a renewable energy project it is my sincere hope that they will seek out proposals for CSP projects that will be much cheaper and produce a greater amount of electricity. Let's look at some of the differences between traditional solar power and concentrated solar power: Comparing Traditional Solar Power with Concentrated Solar Power
| | | Traditional Solar Power
| Concentrated Solar Power
| Price per KW/hour
| 18-23 cents | 12 cents
| Land Usage
| 11.67 acres per MW
| 6.25 acres per MW
| Availability
| Immediate
| Immediate
|
Although concentrated solar power may not be an option for this round of negotiations, it must be seriously considered the next time around. There is evidence that Austin has already begun considering such technology. The May 2008 State Comptroller's Energy Report on Solar Power resourced Mark Kapner, senior strategy engineer, Strategic Planning & Enterprise Development of Austin Energy as stating that: In Texas, Austin Energy has solicited proposals for CSP power from sites in West Texas, but has not made a final decision on whether to proceed.
The report correctly states that concentrated solar panel plants must be in areas with "high solar radiation readings" -- which normally means Wst Texas. The report also goes on to state that transporting energy, specifically wind, from West or Northwest Texas to urban areas of the state will cost $1.5 million per mile. However, Governor Rick Perry recently approved $10 billion for renewable energy transmission lines. (Source). It is most likely the case that Austin could not count on CSP technology in its immediate future; at least, not if it were to meet the 2010 goals the city has set for itself. However, knowing that Austin Energy has already sought out potential ideas for the project, the City should absolutely consider CSP projects going forward -- especially given the lower cost and minimized land usage impact. At the end of the day, a 30MW plant would still be the largest photovoltaic array in the country. So yes -- it is absolutely a big deal. An Investment in the Solar Energy Industry Is Worth Signing an Imperfect, Yet Promising, Deal with Gemini The first and foremost concern with solar power is always the cost -- that it costs more to produce than natural gas and other fossil fuel-based utilities. However, as our supplies of fossil fuels continue to become more limited and more expensive, natural gas will only increase in cost. Investing in a renewable energy that will decrease in price in the coming decades is a forward-thinking way to address Austin's energy needs not only today, but in years to come. A much broader vision for renewable energy, however, is what really makes the Gemini project an economically viable opportunity. Especially if Austin can build a partnership with local communities to develop a manufacturing base for solar power (in much the same way West Texas is preparing to become a manufacturing base for wind power). From the San Antonio Express-News: The idea, which is still in its infancy, would combine the purchasing power of two of the largest municipally owned utilities in the country to lure solar companies to the area. That will take tax incentives and political push, said Austin Mayor Pro Tem Brewster McCracken, who was among a contingent of business and academic leaders from Austin that made the trip to San Antonio to help promote the vision Tuesday. McCracken, considered the leading candidate to be the next mayor of Austin, said the two cities have a competitive advantage over most when it comes to fostering the solar industry. That's because they have large publicly owned utilities that can help lead the way and are in Texas, where the electrical grid is more flexible than elsewhere in the country.
A follow up article in the Express-News articulates the importance of such a partnership for the local economy: For the last few years, Austin, the high-tech gilded one, has experienced a steady loss of jobs from semiconductor plants that manufacture computer microchips. City leaders realized that chip sales are not going to come back and began looking for a way to pirouette those factories into the next big thing. They settled on manufacturing solar panels and other forms of electronic equipment to generate electricity. To pirouette, you need a steady partner, one large enough to attract the biggest solar projects in the world. Suddenly, lumbering San Antonio, approximately twice as large a city as Austin, looked promising to nimble Austin.
The Austin City Council has a unique opportunity this Thursday to put Austin at the forefront of one of the most promising (and cleanest) economic industries in our country's history. With the added power of Austin State Representative Mark Strama chairing the Technology, Workforce, & Economic Development Committee in the Texas House -- better known around the halls of the Capitol as the "green collar jobs" committee -- there is an excellent chance for Austin to make an investment that, though not perfect and not the final piece of a much more challenging puzzle, will help us go a long way to solving our city's energy, environmental, and economic needs for years to come. |
