Although the following article from The Bulletin is a bit of a “puff piece” and includes a few “soft facts” and incomplete explanations of how things actually work, it’s good to see The Bulletin take the time to print this important solar energy story and actually put it on the front page – ”above the fold” even.
The article also alludes to the challenges skeptics bring when new ideas – especially those that might rub the skeptic the wrong way ideolically – are presented. But many other similar solar energy projects have been built and are successfully operating so hopefully the skeptics will be brought around.
From The Bulletin – December 13, 2007:
Bend and Redmond look at solar energy for city projects
The roof of Bend’s parking garage may be just the beginning of solar power for city government for Central Oregon.
SunEnergy Power Corp., the Bend company that will install the panels on top of the downtown garage, has recently been pitching to cities around the state, including Bend and Redmond, the idea of running wastwater treatment plants on solar energy.
Wastewater treatment plants often run up cities’ most expensive utility bills. Bend pays about $20,000 per month to power its wastwater treatment plant.
Companies like SunEnergy pitch the idea of green power along with cheaper utility costs.
On Wednesday, SunEnergy won the right to negotiate with the city of Medford to build up to a 15-acre solar electric system to run the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The project would be the company’s largest to date and the largest municpal solar project in Oregon.
Both Bend and Redmond are considering announcing a pubic call for bids on a water treatment solar project. Officials from Redmond recently toured a California water treatment site that is solar powered.
“We’re fairly early, but it looks very promising,” said Shannon Taylor, a Wastewater Division manager in Redmond. “What we’re looking at would be a win-win for everyone.”
Bend is moving a bit slower.
Bend’s wastewater treatment plant is surrounded by 1,600 acres, 16 of which would be used to build a solar farm.
The land around the Bend wastewater treatment is there, but its existence doesn’t mean it is available, said Paul Rheault, assistant director of the Public Works Department in Bend. The city uses the acreage for effluent discharge and to put biosolids back into the soil or for drying biosolids, which can be used as fertilizer replacement.
“How much land would solar eat up? Would the land still be available for biosolids?” Rheault asked.
The deal was held up in part because it looked so beneficial for Bend.
“I think part of the concern and reason for some of the delay is the offer looked to be so good that people were skeptical,” said Ollie Fick, a management analyst in Bend Public Works who participated in the SunEnergy discussions.
Bob Griffith, public works procurement manager for Bend, remains a skeptic. “I need to know who the investors are, how much the investments are,” said Griffith.
But investors are not finalized, often, until a project receives final go-ahead. Permits are expected to be finalized later this month, which is one of the final hurdles before the investments are set.
During meetings last spring, Griffith wondered if the protential return was significant. He also pointed out that Bend has already moved in a green direction.
Rheault said the site already uses other renewable sources of energy such as methane to power heat.
The head works at the site is one example. The building is the entry point for wastewater coming in to the facility. Here, wood and other larger pieces of debris are broken up, oil skimmed from the surface and the water tested. The project will cost $7.5 million and will run on methane produced from the rest of the site.
Potential savings could also increase with Bend’s growth.
“As the wastwater facility grow, our need for power will grow,” Rheault said.
SunEnergy designs, builds and maintains solar electric systems like the one to be built in Bend. The parking garage system, for example, will be owned by a single investor or group of investors.
After SunEnergy wins a contract, the company assembles institutional investors such as banks and insurance companies. Those investors pay SunEnergy for installation and maintenance of the site, which is how the company makes money.
The investors own the solar electric system and make money by reducing their tax liabilities through collecting on state and federal tax incentives. Municipalities also pay the group for the solar power, often a a rate equal to or less that market rates.
Tax benefits from the solar project are passed through to the investment group because cities or nonprofits are not directly eligible. This arrangement removes from cities the financial risk of building large public works projects.
SunEnergy CEO Doug Parsons said Medford, for instance, will pay nothing for installing or maintaining the system and would pay at or below market rates for the electricity.
The Oregon tax incentives make the state particularly attractive for this kind of work. Medford, in this case, “passes through” the tax benefit to companies for building the solar plants.
In Oregon, the tax benefits can reach 50 percent up to a $20 million project cost, a limit set by the state. The federal program offers 30 percent.
The Oregon Department of Energy has safeguards in place. The department decides how much of a project cost is eligible for the energy tax. This helps prevent companies from overcharging the state, said Evan Elias, technical lead for the Business Energy Tax Program in the Oregon Department of Energy.
“We approve the cost of what we think is energy related,” Elias said.
