After weeks of negotiation, City Council members on Thursday approved the construction of the nation’s largest solar-power-generating plant 15 miles east of Austin, a project that will receive a tax credit from the federal stimulus package.
The approved plant will be built on 350 acres of Austin-owned land outside the city of Webberville and is expected to generate 30 megawatts of power by 2010. Austin Energy, which is contracting Gemini Solar Development Co. for the construction of the plant, is expected to pay $10 million over 25 years for the power, which council members hope will eventually account for a larger percent of the city’s energy use.
The unanimous decision drew applause from meeting attendees in what was called a major step forward in maintaining Austin’s national edge in green energy and curbing the city’s dependence on natural resources.
“We are very happy to be moving forward with this,” said Roger Duncan, Austin Energy’s general manager.
Duncan said he expected the series of delays that postponed Thursday’s action but that he expected council members to approve the project.
The council had requested Austin Energy to search for financial incentives in the federal stimulus package to decrease the total cost of the project.
Tim Lasocki, vice president of business development for Gemini partner MMA Renewable Ventures, said both companies were able to apply for and receive a 30-percent federal investment tax credit from the stimulus package. The credits will aid the growth of solar facilities across the country, he said.
“One key to having credits is it will stimulate the solar market in the long run,” Lasocki said. “Certainly it will make solar power more competitive.”
On two separate occasions, council members delayed approving the plant to create a buy-in program for residents who wished to specifically power their homes using the newly available solar energy.
“We will establish one or more Green Choice offerings,” Duncan said. “It could be a solar-only or a mixed biomass-and-wind option.”
Webberville resident Michael Gildon said he was not aware of the proposed project until he recently read about it in local newspapers, but he said residents are more likely to approve this project than a proposed Austin landfill.
“I was excited,” Gildon said, referring to when he originally heard about the solar facility. “It’ll put Webberville on the map. Everybody is going to know where Webberville is.”
Other area residents are less enthusiastic.
“I’m all for it if it doesn’t cost more to build than it is going to save us,” said Matt Tucker, a sales representative from Bastrop County. “People are building it to feel good. I don’t want to feel good — we are kind of feeling that things are being forced upon us.”
But council members stressed the importance of the project, saying it will play a key role in supplementing coal-generated energy at peak hours.
“This is not a luxury item,” said Councilwoman Randi Shade. “This is part of our long-term power generation.”
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