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TECO Takes Steps To Go Solar

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By RUSSELL RAY

rray@tampatrib.com

Published: March 10, 2009

TAMPA - Tampa Electric, which long has been jeered by environmentalists for its reliance on coal, said Monday it has entered a partnership to build one of the largest solar power plants in the nation in Polk County.

The plant will be built near Mulberry and will generate 25 megawatts of solar power, enough for more than 3,400 homes. The project will create about 200 jobs during construction. Once complete, the plant will employ 20 people.

The utility's decision stems from new clean-air standards adopted by the state and plans to require the use of more renewable power in Florida, said TECO President Chuck Black.

"It's consistent with what we believe the legal requirements are going to be," Black said.
Florida lawmakers are expected to pass legislation this session requiring electric utilities to generate a certain amount of power from renewable resources. The Florida Public Service Commission has recommended the state's utilities generate 20 percent of their power from renewable resources by 2020, an ambitious goal supported by Gov. Charlie Crist.

There Will Be A Price To Pay

The solar project will lead to higher electric bills for TECO customers because solar power is more expensive than power made from coal or natural gas, Black said.

"If it was cost-effective to do solar, we would have already been doing it," he said. "In order to achieve the governor's objectives for the state, this makes sense now, where perhaps it didn't a few years ago."

Black said it is too early to say how much more TECO customers will pay each month. The increase, however, will be "fairly small" because the solar plant's output is a fraction of TECO's total generation capacity, 4,500 megawatts, Black said.

About 55 percent of the power generated by TECO is made with coal. Renewable resources account for 2.5 percent.

Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said Florida may be on the verge of a boom in solar construction.

"This announcement is important, but equally important is getting the Legislature to move forward with a renewable portfolio standard," Smith said. "The South is going to become a major center for solar usage, and I think solar manufacturers are going to locate in our region if we get the policies right."

What's more, the cost of producing solar power is declining while the cost of nuclear and coal-fired power continues to rise, Smith said.

"By making large purchases like this, it helps bring the cost down," he said.

It Could Produce Power By 2011

Pending approval from the Public Service Commission, TECO will purchase the power under a 25-year contract from Energy 5.0, the West Palm Beach renewable energy company that will build and operate the plant.

The plant is expected to begin generating power in the first half of 2011.

Under the contract, TECO and its customers will pay only for the power they receive. When the sun isn't shining and the plant isn't generating power, TECO will not be billed.

"This is purely pay for performance," said Energy 5.0 Chairman Bud Cherry. "We're taking all the risk, and we're willing to accept that risk because we know how to do this stuff."

Cherry didn't identify an exact site for the project because negotiations with the landowners have not been finalized. He did say, however, that the plant will be near Mulberry.

TECO has plenty of transmission and distribution capacity in Polk County, and the land is cheaper, Cherry said.

"A lot of the land we're looking at is reclaimed phosphate mining land," Cherry said.

The plant will use silicon-based photovoltaic panels that generate power when exposed to sunlight. TECO will purchase the power for 25 years beginning in 2011.

During that time, the plant will prevent the emission of up to 1.45 million tons of carbon dioxide compared with emissions of a natural gas-fired plant, according to TECO.

The Public Service Commission is expected to vote on the deal within 90 days.

Florida Power & Light, the state's largest electric utility, is building a similar solar power plant in DeSoto County at a cost of $174 million. Dubbed "the world's largest photovoltaic solar panel facility," the 25-megawatt project will be completed this year.

TECO's solar project, Black said, is "very comparable to the FPL project."

TECO provides power to 667,000 customers in Hillsborough County and portions of Pinellas, Polk and Pasco County.

JOBS FOR POLK

At a time when many communities are losing jobs, Polk County came is making some headway. In addition to TECO's solar power plant - and the jobs that come with it - Lakeland is planning for 700 more jobs as pharmacy company WellDyneRX builds out its facility off Interstate 4. The company employs 35 people and plans to fill the rest of the jobs through 2010.

DETAILS, Business, Back of Sports

Reporter Russell Ray can be reached at (813) 259-7870.

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