Mayor proposes city-owned solar plant

Facility would power county jail; excess energy would be sold

Alan Gathright, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 16, 2006 at midnight

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Mayor John Hickenlooper plans to put Denver's abundant sunshine to work by building one of the nation's first city-owned solar plants to provide clean, cheap power for the county jail.

"Reducing our use of petroleum and coal-based energy is one of the primary goals of Denver's Sustainable Development Initiative," Hickenlooper said Wednesday.

"With the construction of this plant, we will continue our progress toward making the Denver metro area a national leader in renewable energy."

The plan is to build a plant that can produce up to 2 megawatts of power - enough energy for about 2,000 homes - near the 2,200-inmate jail on Smith Road in northeast Denver.

The goal is to produce enough power to offset the jail's current $600,000 annual energy tab and possibly create revenue through the sale of surplus electricity and excess hot water generated by a solar-thermal plant, said Andrew Wallach, an official with the city's sustainable energy development program.

Energy experts say the mayor's idea is do-able - and smart, given the soaring cost and shrinking supplies of fossil fuels.

"I think it's actually a great idea and a progressive step for the city and county of Denver, especially . . . given the growing realities of energy in Colorado," said Michael Brandemuehl, an engineering professor at the University of Colorado.

The mayor launched his sustainable energy initiative in April, saying the key to Denver's future economic vitality is promoting water conservation, renewable energy and transit-friendly development that combats urban sprawl and congestion.

The city has asked firms to submit proposals by March 10 for the construction of a 1-megawatt to 2-megawatt plant by mid-2007 on up to 12 acres in an industrial area of Denver's Stapleton development near the jail.

The city is considering two technologies: traditional solar cell panels, which convert sunlight directly into electricity, or a solar thermal plant that uses U-shaped mirrored troughs to heat water to create steam to run electricity-generating turbines. Excess hot water can then be recycled to heat buildings.

Solar thermal energy "is not technology that's untried," said George Douglas, spokesman for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden. "There are solar-thermal plants that produce electricity at a fairly reasonable rate in the deserts of Nevada and California already."

Brandemuehl agreed, saying, "There are ongoing discussions about putting such a facility in the San Luis Valley."

Historically, large-scale solar electricity plants have cost an average $3 million to $4 million for every megawatt of capacity - or roughly $6 million for a 2-megawatt plant, Wallach said.

The city hopes to take advantage of government incentives for building renewable energy projects.

The solar plant would link with Xcel Energy's distribution network and receive subsidies under Amendment 37, the state initiative passed by voters in 2004 that requires large utilities to generate increasing amounts of their power from sun, wind and other alternative sources.

Denver also plans to seek financing available from the federal Clean Renewable Energy Bonds program.

Xcel welcomes the city project, which will help the utility meet its Amendment 37 mandate of producing 18 megawatts of solar power by the end of 2007, said spokesman Tom Henley.

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