[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: Solar PV purchased by Palo Alto Muni for 6.9 cents/kW

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Cowles, Macon

I want to make sure that no one missed this post from the BREEE list about cities in both Red states and Blue buying renewable power aggressively!






Palo Alto Goes Solar, 80 Megawatts at 6.9 Cents per Kilowatt-Hour


Some of the cheapest solar in the land in the heart of Silicon Valley


ERIC WESOFF: JULY 1, 2013



The city of Palo Alto could claim the title of being the Heart of Silicon Valley (against the protestations of San Jose, Mountain View, Cupertino, and Menlo Park). The Northern California city is the home of Stanford University, Packard's garage, a high concentration
 of venture capitalists, and a crop of high-tech startups that's growing like kudzu.

And now it's home to a municipal utility which has approved 80 megawatts in solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) to meet approximately 18 percent of the city's load -- and essentially provide power for all of Palo Alto's 65,000 residents, according to the
 utility. 

But the big story is the price.

The price is an eye-opening 6.9 cents per kilowatt-hour for the 30-year PPA.

"Try building a new nuke or coal plant at that price," was Adam Browning of Vote
 Solar's take on the number. The price compares favorably to the typical market price referent and would seem to be able to take on prices paid for natural gas or wind. The projects still include the 30 percent federal Investment Tax Credit.

The city looked at 92 project proposals and ultimately selected:


The Elevation project in Fresno County (40 megawatts proposed by Silverado Power)
The Western Antelope project in Los Angeles County (20 megawatts proposed by Silverado Power)
The Frontier project in Stanislaus County (20 megawatts proposed by Ridgeline Energy)


All of the solar plants are sited on "distressed agricultural land." 

The city has a goal of 100 percent carbon-free power from the utility. These solar plants are a big step.

When the three solar projects come on-line in 2017, Palo Alto will generate almost half of its electricity from renewables. The city estimates that meeting its goal of being 100 percent carbon-neutral will cost the ratepayer about $3 per year.

The utility calculates the impact of its renewables contracts to be in the range of 0.11 cents per kilowatt-hour compared to conventional generation. The math looks to adjust for time-of-delivery, transmission costs, and capacity value.

According to the City of Palo Alto, this is the lowest-cost renewable energy it has procured in the last eight years.








Houston and Palo Alto chart aggressive course for green power

By Sustainable Business News

Published June 26, 2013

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Tags: Cities, Renewable
 Energy



With the cities of Houston and Palo Alto both announcing big purchases of renewable energy, it shows that prices are at the point where cities can get a significant portion of their energy
 from clean sources.
Houston's purchase makes it the largest municipal buyer of renewables in the United States.
It's buying enough wind energy to supply half its electricity for the next two years. The 140 megawatts (MW) from utility Reliant (owned by NRG) costs just $2 million.
"Historically, investing in clean energy has been a matter of cost, but wind prices right now are incredibly competitive with natural gas prices, so it's become easier than ever to invest
 in clean energy. And not only do you get clean air, but you are able to show leadership by making these investments. It shows the world that it's doable," says Luke Metzger, director of Environment Texas.Wind
 turbines near White Deer, Texas.
Purchasing renewable power is a significant way to help cities reduce emissions, says Laura Spanjian, Houston's sustainability director.
"We just reviewed data that shows that since 2007 and the last five years, the City of Houston reduced our emissions by 26 percent," she says. "So we are on the right track and we just want
 to continue."
Houston has some of the strongest energy efficiency standards in the country and one of the most extensive electric car charging networks.
Thanks to a $6.8 billion investment in new transmission lines, Texas will be able to deliver double the wind capacity to its cities. The state leads the nation in installed wind capacity,
 which supplies 9.2 percent of in-state generated electricity.
Main Texas wind turbines image by the russians are here via Compfight cc.
 Inline image by Jim Parkin via Shutterstock.





Macon Cowles
Boulder City Councilor