Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Bizmology

Bizmology

A 60 MW solar farm in Texas. Here comes the sun.

Posted: 04 Jan 2011 08:49 AM PST

 

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter,
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here.
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
And I say it's alright:

Maybe the late George Harrison was really on to something.

At least the owners and future operators of the planned 60 MW Pflugerville Solar Farm, just outside of Austin, Texas seem to concur. In mid-December, 2010 RRE Power, LLC broke ground on this flagship project, developed by subsidiary, RRE Austin Solar, LLC. When completed, the Pflugerville Solar Farm will be one of the largest solar projects in the world, and puts Central Texas on the map alongside Southern California and Arizona as a major player in the emerging solar photovoltaic power market.

Local, state, and federal government leaders as well as more than 100 industry and community representatives were present at the ground breaking ceremony. The 720 acre farm will host more than 400,000 solar panels when completed by 2013.  By the end  of 2011, when the Lower Colorado River Authority anticipates completing the construction of a related switching station and other infrastructure, power from the solar farm will start to flow into the ERCOT transmission grid.

Spurred on by its pilot project in Pflugerville, RRE Power president Dinesh Mehta is eyeing the development of more than 500 MW of solar power capacity in the US over the next five years, including a solar farm in Big Spring, Texas. He is also looking at other sites, including locations in Colorado and Ohio.

The project appears to be a win-win for the parties involved. Local and state politicians can point to the project fulfilling the Obama Administration's green energy push, while the construction and operation provide new employment opportunities for local citizens of the area. This investment in the development of clean energy is expected to create 300 to 450  construction jobs by 2013.

The solar farm will require an investment of approximately $200 million, and, according to Congressman Lloyd Doggett, this project will fully qualify for federal renewable energy support funding.

The editors at Hoover's and analysts at First Research will be keeping our eyes on this growth industry and the individual companies involved.

I personally plan to visit the farm a few times as it evolves over the next few years and see how it all shapes up.

I have taken quite a shine to Texas’ renewable energy efforts, and have already taken a great liking to the wind farms that are prevalent in West and North Texas. Now I will be able to see 400,000 solar panels in one space.

As the one-time semi-local, now defunct band Timbuk3 put it:

The future’s so bright I gotta wear shades.

~

Photo by Wayne National Forest, used under a Creative Commons License.
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