Texas Town Goes Green with 100% Renewable Electricity

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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The city of Georgetown, Texas, is going completely green. All of its electricity will come from renewable resources starting next year, when 150 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic generation to be built by SunEdison Incorporated (NYSE:SUNE) (Belmont, California) in West Texas will be interconnected with Georgetown, a city of about 50,000 located about 26 miles north of Austin.

The as-yet-unnamed SunEdison solar plants, which are scheduled to begin construction in mid-2015, are expected to meet about 50% of the city's electric needs. The other half will be met by 144 MW of wind generation from a windfarm located about 50 miles west of Amarillo, Texas. That $388 million project, the Spinning Spur Wind Ranch Phase III windfarm, is under construction and is expected to be operating by yearend 2015. Spinning Spur 3 was developed by EDF Renewable Energy (formerly known as enXco) (San Diego, California).

The two power purchase agreements (PPAs) Georgetown signed for the renewable power will make it one of the largest municipally owned utilities in the U.S. to rely on renewables for all its electricity, according to city officials. The two PPAs lower electric costs, sharply reduce water use, and are not subject to environmental regulation on greenhouse gases, they said.

Keith Hutchinson, a spokesman for Georgetown, told Industrial Info that no additional generation will be built to back up the intermittent renewable resources: "If the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow, we'll get power from the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) (Austin, Texas)." He said no new transmission lines would be needed to bring electricity from West Texas to Georgetown.

The combination of solar and wind power allows Georgetown to source electricity from complementary renewable sources to meet demand. Wind power production in West Texas tends to be highest in the off-peak, evening or early-morning hours. The solar power produced in West Texas will provide a daily afternoon supply peak that matches the daily energy demand peak in Georgetown, especially during the hot summer months, city officials said.

Georgetown is hoping its fully renewable energy and its reduced use of scarce water will add a new dimension to its economic development efforts. Many companies, especially those in the high-tech sector, have goals for their sites to purchase at least some renewable energy. The city's renewable power supply can help existing and future businesses achieve their sustainability goals at a competitive price. Between Georgetown and Austin is the city of Round Rock, corporate home to Dell Incorporated, one of the world's largest computer manufacturers, and a host of service providers tied to high-tech manufacturing.

"The greater Austin area has quite a collection of high-tech firms--both computer companies and software firms--and it is very common for them to have renewable-energy and water-conservation goals," Hutchinson said. "It will be a competitive advantage for us to provide these high-tech companies 100% renewable energy and a reduced water footprint."

Georgetown has had a municipally owned electric distribution utility for more than 100 years. It closed its sole power plant in 1945 and purchased electricity at wholesale until 2012, when it reassessed its energy-supply options.

"When Georgetown Utility Systems opted to seek new sources of power in 2012, we were charged with a mission to secure the most cost-effective energy that balanced risk and reward," said Jim Briggs, Georgetown's interim city manager and general manager for utilities, in a statement. "Georgetown Utility Services isn't required to buy solar or other renewables. We did so because it will save on electricity costs and decrease our water usage."

"This power purchase agreement makes Georgetown Utility Systems one of the largest municipal utilities in the nation to be 100% renewable powered," Briggs continued. "It also provides a hedge against future fuel and regulatory risks. By securing these renewable contracts the utility can consider itself 100 percent 'green,' but it does so at extremely competitive costs for energy while hedging against future fuel and regulatory risks."

SunEdison Executive Vice President Paul Gaynor told the Associated Press, "If oil goes to $100 barrel again, it's not going to have an impact on the bills of customers." He said the company was planning on building another solar farm in Texas, but declined to provide details.

"Georgetown is an exceptional city, and by going 100% renewable they cut down on pollution, save water, and enjoy stable energy prices," Gaynor said in a statement. "They're able to accomplish all of this without spending a penny up-front with the SunEdison PPA. Georgetown is a model for other cities that hope to become powered by clean renewable energy."

"Manufacturing advances and renewable energy tax credits make it much more cost-effective to generate electricity from renewable resources like solar and wind," said Brock Ramey, Industrial Info's North American power specialist. "We're not aware of other cities that rely 100% on renewable energy without backup generation, often gas-fired, to make sure the electricity keeps flowing when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine. But if this works in Georgetown, it could improve the prospects for renewable energy in the U.S."

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.