Background
The electricity generated by the project will be delivered to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) power grid at the Gonzales substation. ERCOT manages the flow of electricity to 23 million Texas customers—representing 85% of the state’s electric load. In 2011, approximately 9% of the electricity generated in the ERCOT power grid was supplied by renewable sources, including biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar, and wind resources, while 91% was supplied by coal, natural gas, and nuclear power plants.
The electricity produced by the project will be purchased by Bryan Texas Utilities (BTU), a municipally-owned electric utility based in Bryan, Texas, providing service to approximately 49,000 customers, which represent about 40% of the population of Brazos County. As of the close of fiscal year 2010, the energy generated or purchased by BTU was mainly from natural gas (68%) and coal (25%), while wind energy accounted for approximately 7%. Although the energy produced by the project will be credited against BTU power demand and generation, it will actually be consumed by residents in Presidio County, Texas.
Description
The project consists of designing, building and operating a 10 MWAC/12.5 MWDC solar park using traditional crystalline silicon photovoltaic solar panels mounted on single-axis trackers that automatically follows the path of the sun during the day to maximize the solar radiation that the solar panels receive. The solar park will occupy approximately 520 acres of leased land and will be executed under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract.
The Project will interconnect to the Gonzales substation that connects via a single 69 kV line to the Alamito Creek substation 50.5 miles away.
Benefits
The project will displace greenhouse gases produced by traditional fossil-fuel based energy generation and thus contribute help improve air quality, while providing residents of Presidio County, Texas, with a safe, reliable energy alternative. Estimated emission improvements include the displacement of over 16,805 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), 14 metric tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 29 metric tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2) per year. The Project is expected to generate sufficient electricity for the equivalent of about 800 households.
