Energy Exchange

Next week renewable energy advocates and policy makers will come together for Texas Energy Independence Week at the Texas Capitol.  The event, put together by the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association (TREIA) will allow industry, advocacy groups and academics to connect with policy makers and staff on how Texas can better realize their opportunities in developing the renewable energy market and reaping the economic rewards. 

I will be moderating a panel on Wednesday, February 23 from 3:45pm-5:00pm.  I will be speaking with representatives from Applied Materials, American Electric Technologies and SolarCityabout making the business case for renewables in Texas. 

I’d like your help in leading the discussion.  What questions would you ask of these business leaders?  Comment below or tweet your questions to @EDFtx before the panel on February 23, 2011 and I’ll select a few of the best to ask our panelist. 

Even if you can’t make it to the panel, this is a great opportunity to expand the discussion of promoting renewable energy development in Texas and maybe you will spark an idea no one has thought of before. 

I’ll update my blog after the panel with highlights from the discussion and answers to some of your questions. 

Below is information about the panelists and a link to more information on Texas Energy Independence Week.  

The Business Case for A Robust Role for Renewable Energy in Texas’ Energy Mix

 
Moderator: Colin Meehan, Environmental Defense Fund

Panelists:
Cathy Boone, Senior Director, Energy Policy and Market Development, Applied Materials, Inc.

Charles Dauber, President and Chief Executive Officer, American Electric Technologies, Inc.

Colin Murchie, Director, Federal Government Affairs, SolarCity

Click here for more information on Texas Energy Independence Week and TREIA.

For the last century, Texas has been the energy capital of the United States and in order to maintain that position at the top we must attract new renewable energy companies to Texas.  Today the PUC convened in an open meeting to discuss the important question of whether Texas should be involved in the 21^st century energy market, a market which is rapidly becoming dominated by China and India, among others.  Unfortunately it seems the conclusion they’ve already come to is “why do today what you can put off until eight years from tomorrow.”

 The PUC’s proposed rule pushes back the 2015 goal set by the legislature of having 500 MW of solar and other non-wind renewables to 2018, letting the solar and other renewable energy industries know that when it comes to planning for the future, we’d just as soon wait.  Not that anyone should be surprised, considering the legislature first passed this 500 MW goal in 2005 and it has taken five years for the PUC to respond with a proposal.

 A more aggressive Renewable Portfolio Standard for non-wind renewable energy, much like the one that fostered Texas’ wind dominance, is the type of policy that can help Texas be a leader in solar.  The PUC seemed to recognize this fact, and the clear intent of the Legislature in its first two drafts of this proposed rule.  A great deal of time and effort from staff and stakeholders went into discussing and analyzing the costs and benefits since the last draft was published in April.  However, for reasons the PUC has not disclosed, they have decided that instead of 500 MW by 2015 Texas needs 10 MW of solar and 20 MW of other renewables.  That is a dramatic drop from enough renewable energy to power 250,000 homes to only 15,000 homes.  The PUC’s change of heart on the non-wind RPS is economically irresponsible and sends the wrong message to renewable energy companies looking to do business in Texas.  This decision could drive solar companies to Arizona, New Mexico or Colorado, states with much more aggressive solar energy mandates.

 Meanwhile, Central Texas cities such as San Antonio and Austin, whose municipally owned utilities are not subject to the PUC, have established their own goals for solar power and have taken the initiative to invest now to offset the future risks of the rising cost of energy. Earlier this month SunPower announced plans to open a new corporate operations center in Austin, bringing around 450 jobs to the city.  Just this week RRE Solar broke ground on a mammoth solar project in Pflugerville that will be the flagship project of a multi-national renewable energy company that sees vast growth potential for utility-scale solar development in Texas.  San Antonio’s work with SunEdison on three 10 MW installations in the city is expected to lead to larger economic development opportunities with the solar giant. 

 Despite what some critics have said, it’s clear that cost is not really the issue when considering these types of long term goals.  Austin Energy and City Public Service represent some of the lowest electric rates in Texas over the last few years, and to keep those rates low and create new jobs their communities have set goals for solar power.  Even the PUC has been clear about the benefits of the RPS, saying in their 2009 report that wind energy “has had the impact of lowering wholesale and retail prices of electricity.”  However, the Austin and San Antonio utilities represent only about 10% of the market.  If Texas is going to fully take advantage of its solar resources, the PUC needs to have meaningful requirements for the rest of the market.

We can only hope that the 82nd Legislature passes more meaningful incentives for renewable energy to help generate clean Texas renewable energy generated power, economic development and the jobs that the PUC’s current plan fails to deliver.

The blog was co-authored by Amy Hardberger, an attorney in the EDF Texas office who specializes in the energy-water nexus.

The hard truth is this: Texas will need more electricity as it continues to grow. This means we’ll have to make some tough choices in the future to balance the needs of our economy with the environment. 

Renewable energy, particularly solar, is an important piece of the solution.  As more large solar projects are proposed, regulators, local citizens and developers will need to weigh economic development opportunities with wildlife and land preservation.  In Texas, EDF has been involved in many of these issues, especially the use of water as it relates to power plants.

Renewable energy can be water efficient

Conventional power plants, such as nuclear and coal plants, are well known as high consumers of water, but renewable power is a different story.  Photovoltaic solar projects in Texas require little to no water. 

A lesser known, but very promising solar technology is Concentrating Solar Power (CSP).  CSP uses conventional power plant technology coupled with highly concentrated sunlight to avoid the use of fossil fuels. 

Texas can lead the renewables industry in water efficiency

In terms of water use, CSP developers have traditionally relied on more conventional water-based cooling systems. However, there is a  shift to dry-cooled systems, a more water efficient system – reducing water usage by as much as 90%. This is good news since most CSP projects are proposed in places with a lot of sun and not a lot of water.

Texas may be at the forefront of a utilizing CSP in an even more water efficient way. Texas’ first CSP project is being developed by Tessera Solar. Their design features a technology that uses no water in the electric generation process. The only water needed is to clean the system.

In other locations, Solar Millennium announced its decision to change a planned project in Nevada to dry cooling in November of last year, and BrightSource Energy has chosen to use dry-cooling for all of its projects. 

Texas and a solar boom

This couldn’t come at a better time for Texas. The Public Utilities Commission is finally considering a rule to implement renewable energy goals for non-wind resources from a bill passed in the 2005 Texas Legislative Session that will help kick start solar in Texas.  Meanwhile, conventional power plants that are being proposed have some cities proposing the equivalent of taking out a second mortgage on their water supply. 

Texas is well positioned for a solar boom to rival the last decade’s wind boom, and we’re glad to see that solar companies are reading the writing on the wall. Trying to find water in the desert is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.  Why waste your time, when you can avoid the haystack all together?

Settling down with my usual bedtime reading last night – Austin Energy’s Annual Report of System Information – two tables caught my attention: the “Fuel Costs” (in total $) table on page 2, and the “Energy By Fuel Type”(in total MWh) table on page 3.   Hiding in those tables are some meaningful numbers that refute the current thinking that with natural gas prices so cheap, nothing can possibly be cheaper. A little bit of math shows that renewable energy is an even cheaper option.

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