A recent article in the Denton Record-Chronicle reported on an offer, put out for proposals by Denton Municipal Electric, to purchase electricity from an as-yet-unbuilt solar electric generation facility. I would suggest that before approving any such contract, the City Council carefully assess this project with the following considerations:
What specific city of Denton goals will be met with this project? What objective, quantifiable criteria (financial benefit, pollution reduction, "greenhouse gas" reduction, etc.) will be used to evaluate the project? Will the total life cycle of the project, including the manufacturing of its components and their disposal when it is no longer viable, be considered in the evaluation of its environmental and financial impact? Who will perform this analysis?
What will be the cost to state and federal taxpayers through subsidies, tax credits and other incentives? What interest rates are assumed for the cost of borrowing money for the lifetime of this project?
What other options (wind generation, conversion of city vehicles to compressed natural gas, etc.) were considered to meet the city's goals, and why was this option selected over the others? Is this the most cost-effective approach to meet the city's goals? Who did the analysis?
What is the expected life of the facility, and how does its output degrade with age? What are the bases for the projections?
Will there be a minimum required plant output and penalties for not meeting the requirement?
The output of a solar facility will obviously vary as the sun rises and sets during the day, and its output will be significantly reduced by cloud cover, which can change rapidly on a summer afternoon as clouds drift over the plant. Some other source of electricity will have to be readily available to make up for the fluctuation in solar output. Will there be an increase in cost to DME customers for this backup capacity? What source will it come from? How with the backup power be managed? Is there any possibility that energy storage (batteries) will have to be installed to mitigate rapid fluctuations in output?
The request for proposal states that DME will purchase all electricity generated by the project, and also that government financial subsidies and incentives for generation of solar power will be considered in setting the price for the electricity produced. What would be the resulting increased cost to DME, and therefore to their customers, if these federal subsidies were reduced or terminated, as has happened recently with corn-based ethanol?
Has there been any discussion of the wisdom of inducing a company to install a manufacturing facility in Denton to gain this contract? A count of the utility-size solar facilities in the U.S. reveals that of 275 plants, only one is in Texas and only 10 are in neighboring states. Is it wise to influence a vendor to make such an important decision when the market for its product is not local? What assurance does DME have that the facility will remain open for any length of time?
What is the justification for having at least three "demonstration projects" within the city? Wouldn't one do? Is Denton so large as to require three?
The cost of solar electric generation facilities is said to be falling. The U.S. Department of Energy has a program in place with the goal of reducing the cost of solar energy systems by about 75 percent by the end of this decade, making solar power competitive with other sources of electricity. Has DME considered how much more cost-effective this project would be if it were postponed a relatively short time until these cost reductions are realized?
The proposed generation facility is not a few solar panels on a building's roof. A similar capacity (15 megawatt) photovoltaic solar facility in Jacksonville, Fla., covers 90 acres. The facility cost will probably be in excess of $50 million.
If the DME were a private company that competed for customers and did not rely on government subsidies, I would not be concerned about this project. But, in Denton, we have no choice of electricity providers; we are required by law to purchase electricity from DME. Any excess costs from this project will necessarily fall to the electric ratepayers and taxpayers of the city of Denton, and to the taxpayers of the United States.
I think everyone is concerned about the environment and our reliance on fossil fuels. But we also need to make sure that the decisions we make are based on objective facts and that the financial condition of our country is taken into account. I therefore ask that the City Council very carefully consider the pros and cons of this project by performing a comprehensive, thorough and objective study of its environmental and financial impacts.
WILLIAM STEWART is a registered professional engineer who has been employed by Texas Instruments and Raytheon. He has been a resident of Denton for 18 years.
