Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at 8:00:00 AM - by Jeanne Roberts

On March 5, the city council of Austin unanimously approved a measure that will give the city the largest solar system in the U.S.

The project, to be built by Gemini Solar Development Co., will deliver 30 megawatts of power from a 320-acre, city-owned site about 20 miles outside the city’s downtown area. Gemini is a joint venture between Suntech Power Holdings, the world’s leading maker of photovoltaic modules, and MMA Renewable Ventures, a venture capital firm working in the area of renewable energy.

Currently, the largest existing photovoltaic competitor to the Gemini project is the 18-megawatt plant at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. The next nearest competitor is the Florida Power & Light (FPL) 25-megawatt project – the DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center – slated for completion in late 2009. The Gemini project, slated for completion in 2010, will deliver all its power to the city’s municipal electric utility, Austin Energy, via a 25-year contract which will cost the city about $10 million and deliver enough electricity to power about 5,000 homes, which puts the price of this particular solar installation close to parity. The cost of the project has been lowered through federal tax credits, and Gemini will also apply for any incentives that become available through the new federal stimulus package.

Gemini will construct, own and manage the facility, and Austin’s participation represents a significant step toward the city council’s stated goal of having 100 megawatts of solar capacity by 2020, or 30 percent of Austin Energy’s power from renewable resources.

The project will take about nine months to complete, starting in the first quarter of 2010, and will generate about 600 local construction jobs, according to city council members. Austin City Mayor Will Wynn adds that a diversified renewable energy portfolio is aimed at protecting Austin Energy customers from the volatility and rising prices of traditional energy markets.

The panels, made up of polycrystalline silicon manufactured by Suntech, will be mounted at ground level using concrete footings and consolidated into arrays functioning on single-axis trackers, which allows the panels to move from east to west to take full advantage of solar radiation.

Austin Energy’s portfolio currently consists of 99-percent wind generation, so the solar installation adds another dimension of “green”. The utility already has in place a solar rebate – one of the largest in the country – offering $4.50 per watt installed. This has inspired about 3 megawatts of installation on about 693 homes, 56 businesses, 30 city-owned facilities and 21 schools. The city is also poised to test the new smart grid technology, in cooperation with 11 corporate participants including the University of Texas.