Austin’s new Solar Power System is under construction and ahead of schedule!
Today I was lucky to be included on a private tour of the latest and greatest in solar power in Texas. The tour was for the commissioners that consult with the City of Austin Energy. So there were about 10 of us that got to see the vast progress made on this project. I was the only civilian participating in the tour.
This new facility is under construction and it is a joint venture between the City of Austin Energy and FRV-Fotowatio Renewable Ventures. They broke ground on March 18th of this year, and due to the dry weather are now 40 days ahead of schedule. If things continue in this manner they expect to be flipping the power switch on November 17th and expect to be fully operational and sending power to residential customers in mid to late December 2011. They need a few weeks to fully test everything and make sure its all operational before its online. This is a big step forward to Austin’s commitment to being one of the “greenest cities” in the USA.
This facility once complete will have a multitude of solar panels over the 396 acre project. This will be the largest Solar Array in Texas and the second largest in the USA. They anticipate producing about twenty percent of the energy Austin uses. The project is really an international venture as FRV is a company based in Spain with offices in San Francisco and Austin. The solar panels have traveled ½ around the world from Shanghi to rest in a Webberville field.
They expected life of one of these solar panels is about 25 years. They get quite hot, during our tour they told us the solar panels were about 120-130 degrees and could easily burn you if touched. The steel piles that the panels rest on were about 130 degrees. The piles are driven between 12-20 feet into the ground to ensure they are stable resting place for the panels. The panels are on a “tracking system” and therefore follow the sun’s course, thus providing about 20% more power than a stationary solar panel.
All of this expensive equipment is behind barbed wire and has security systems and security personnel onsite. The solar panels that are in place are live and already have current flowing in them, so if you were to touch them, our guide said you could easily have the equivalent of 4000 degrees and electric current hit you. This is not a place to be careless by any means. They have very stringent safety protocols in place to ensure they keep their zero accidents/recordables during the life of the project. This new solar array has created about 85 construction jobs for the area.
All in all I am very excited to witness the progress of Austin Energy‘s progress. It is about time that we moved to renewable clean energy. A big “Way to Go” shout out to the City of Austin!
I am not affiliated in any way with the City of Austin Energy or FRV.
I am simply a Realtor in Austin thats is all about going "Green" and anything that saves our natural resources. If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Austin or Lake Travis, please give me a call.
Betina Foreman - REALTOR, C.N.E.
(512)771-6318
Austin Home Girls Realty
Comments(0)