Energy Independence Day, July 3, 2010

With the economy and job-growth stagnant, oil still spewing from the BP well-head into the Gulf of Mexico as a toxic reminder of our addiction to fossil fuels, President Obama couldn’t have picked a better time to announce a major solar power initiative than today, July 3rd — only hours away from Independence Day.

The president labeled his weekly radio address “A Solar Recovery,” reflecting the emphasis on pocket-book voting in this election year. Personally, I wish Obama would have gone with “Energy Independence Day,” putting the spotlight on the larger, long-term prize. But I guess that explains why I’m a journalist and he’s The President of the United States of America.

“We’re accelerating the transition to a clean energy economy and doubling our use of renewable energy sources like wind and solar power…” the president said and then announced a new commitment to solar power of $2 billion.

Solana Solar Generating Station

The bulk of the money will be used to build the world’s largest solar power plant, a 280-MW station in southwestern Arizona. The Solana generating plant, said Obama, “will be the first large-scale solar plant in the U.S. to actually store the energy it generates for later use — even at night.”

Solana (Spanish for “sunny place”) will be built and operated by Abengoa, headquartered in Seville, Spain. The plant will use concentrating solar power (CSP) technology, which uses heat generated by sunlight to produce electricity. Most Americans are more familiar with photovoltaic (PV) solar panels used mostly on rooftops to generate electricity.

Electricity generated by Solana will be purchased by Arizona Public Service, the state’s largest utility, and used to supply electric power to an estimated 70,000 homes.

“This is very encouraging news,” Pat Dinkel, VP for power marketing and resource planning at APS, told The Sun today. “We know there are a lot of steps remaining before our customers can benefit from Solana’s generation but this action brings that goal a step closer.”

Abengoa’s Fred Morse thanked Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Tucson), a leading solar advocate in Washington.

“Congresswoman Giffords played an instrumental role to make this project a reality,” said Morse. “She understands the importance of creating jobs in Arizona and the ripple effects that this project will create throughout the Arizona economy. Solana will bring Arizona one step closer to becoming the solar capital of the nation.”

The Solana project has been in the works for at least three years. With the federal loan guarantee, construction on the plant may begin yet this year.

Secretary Chu: U.S. leadership in the global green economy

Abound Solar's PV Panel

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu touted the second part of today’s announcement — $400 million to Abound Solar Manufacturing to produce a new form of PV cells. Plants in Longmont, Colorado, and Tipton, Indiana will manufacture Cadmium-Telluride panels, a technology developed at Colorado State University, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the National Science Foundation.

The Indiana plant was originally built for a Chrysler auto parts supplier, but because of the recession, it had never been occupied. By 2013, Abound hopes to be manufacturing 840 MW worth of solar panels a year at the two plants.

“By supporting new cutting-edge solar manufacturing technologies,” said Chu, “we are advancing a diverse renewable energy portfolio while helping to position the U.S. at the forefront of the global green economy.”

Jobs for Arizona & New Mexico, too

The Solana plant will need nearly a million specially-made mirrors to reflect and concentrate the Arizona sunlight, and miles of tubing to carry the super-heated liquid used in the CSP process. A mirror factory is planned for the Phoenix area, and the tubes will come from neighboring New Mexico, where a factory owned by Schott Solar is currently operating well-below capacity.

Solana Solar Generating Station

The Solana plant will cover 3,000 acres of former farmland. While CSP that uses water for cooling is controversial, especially in the desert, the power plant will use less water than the farm that had been at the same location. According to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords office, Solana will use slightly more than 10 percent of the water drawn by the farm.

Solana generates electricity without producing greenhouse gasses — eliminating an estimated 470,000 tons of GHG a year.

Some 3,200 giant parabolic collectors will track the sun throughout the day at Solana. Each collector is 25-feet wide, 20-feet high and the length of 1.5 football fields. Some of the heat generated by the collectors will be stored as molten salt, allowing the plant to generate electricity for six hours after sunset.

• Watch the video of the President’s address
• Solana on the APS Website
• Representative Gabrielle Giffords
• Abound Solar
• Abengoa white paper on trough technology (pdf)

The Solana-APS/Abengoa solar plant (artist rendering)

Attracting quality employers to Arizona should be one of our highest priorities, especially in these trying economic times. With a ready-made market created by the 300 days of sunshine each year, the solar industry would be a natural fit for us.

Sen. Tibshraeny

There are two areas of solar technology - generation and manufacturing. Several growing solar generation companies are looking at Arizona for potential investment. The Solana-APS/Abengoa plant, a projected thermal power facility near Gila Bend, is just one example of what can be done with the natural resources of this state. The Solana plant would create 1,500 jobs and generate an estimated $4 billion over the next 30 years.

Arizona is also vying with several other states to attract solar manufacturing employers. We have missed numerous opportunities to land these businesses here because of our inability to compete with other states such as Oregon, New Mexico and Texas. These projects had the potential to provide thousands of high-quality jobs for Arizona residents and help diversify our economy while making Arizona a leader in the solar industry.

Arizona is already highly competitive in the semiconductor market, and the skills its work force possesses are transferable to the solar industry.

If we learn anything from this downturn, it should be that our economy has been overly reliant on the construction industry, especially residential construction, for far too long. It is time to heed the advice economic development experts have been giving us for years. We must diversify our economy. In addition to our semiconductor businesses, we need to attract employers in the bio-industry, aerospace, telecommunications, advanced business, and sustainable technologies sectors. In the area of sustainable technologies, solar seems particularly suited to this state.

The solar industry is one of the few business sectors still experiencing growth in today’s difficult economic climate.

It is projected that U.S. solar-related investments will increase by $232 billion and will provide approximately 276,000 jobs nationwide by 2016.

Arizona is already highly competitive in the semiconductor market, and the skills its work force possesses are transferable to the solar industry.

It is not too late to change the course of our future. We need to foster an economic climate and tax structure that will lead to job growth in this industry. One proposal being considered in the state Senate, SB1403, is one way we can advance Arizona’s competitiveness. This bill would create a state income tax credit for renewable energy companies that invest in land, facilities, equipment and high-wage job creation.

The Senate Government Institutions Committee, which I chair, recently had a presentation on the solar industry. Members and the public received an overview of current market activity and heard about the potential of these new technological and business opportunities for job growth.

My goal was to educate my colleagues and provide valuable up-to-date information to those who are interested in the development of this industry in Arizona.

As state policymakers, we must address the issue of our competitiveness in attracting new technologies and taking the steps necessary to bring these businesses into our communities. By doing so we can enhance our economic growth and provide stability for our future. Enacting SB1403 will help meet these goals.

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Arizona State Senator Jay Tibshraeny (R) lives in Chandler, AZ. His Viewpoint first ran in the East Valley Tribune. It is used here with his permission.