MD's largest solar project under construction
Constellation Energy announced today that it's begun work on a 16.1-megawatt solar power plant at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg that when finished will be Maryland's largest single generator of electricity from the sun - at least for now.
Earth movers recently began clearing and grading the site for the $60 million project, which is expected to be completed next year.
Constellation plans to place 220,000 thin-film photovoltaic panels on 100 acres it is leasing from the Catholic institution, capable of generating more than 22 million kilowatt-hours of electricity. The facility will be owned and operated by the Baltimore-based energy company.
Burning coal to produce the same amount of energy would release 15,170 metric tons of climate-warming carbon dioxide - roughly equivalent to what 2,975 cars and trucks spew from their tailpipes annually, according to Environmental Protection Agency data.
The project was made possible by a 20-year power purchase agreement with the state and the University System of Maryland. The state will be paying a fixed rate of 22.25 cents per kilowatt-hour, well above the current cost to generate power from burning fossil fuels. But Kevin Lucas of the Maryland Energy Administration says that higher cost is offset by the marketable solar renewable energy credits the state also gets, which are now selling for about 17.5 cents/kwh.
The panels were made by First Solar, an Arizona-based company with manufacturing plants in Ohio, Germany and Malaysia. The construction is expected to employ 75 people on average, and up to 150 at its peak, according to Constellation. Once finished, the company says it will be run and maintained by two workers.
The Emmitsburg facility is one of four large-scale renewable energy projects being pushed by the O'Malley administration by offering long-term power purchasing agreements. While the largest in the state for now, an even larger, 20-megawatt project is proposed by Easton-based Maryland Solar on 250 acres of farmland at a state prison complex in Hagerstown.
Constellation plans to build a separate 1.3-megawatt solar array to generate power for Mount St. Mary's.
(Photo: Aerial view of solar plant construction site, by Something in the Sky for Constellation Energy)
Comments
Go solar at your house and get off the grid.
Posted by: Bawlamer Merlin | September 29, 2011 10:55 AM
Now what is the point of this expenditure?
Climate change? Aside from the scientists, who cares? No tangible benefits to solar. Coal can be cleaned further to prevent disease. other than that, what's the problem? don't use oil for enerrgy, so no lies about dependence on foreign oil to justify solar.
Posted by: didactic1 | September 29, 2011 12:08 PM
First let me be clear, I support green power. Now, with that said my current electric bill is about 10cents per kwh. So we, as tax payers that fund the University System of Maryland, have decided that paying 22.25 cents per kwh makes sense just to be green? How is this saving us tax payers money?
TW: As the post explains, the state gets the solar renewable energy credits for the project. Their value fluctuates, but MEA says they're sellling for 17.5 cents per kwh right now. If that holds, that puts the price under what you're paying for fossil-dominated power off the grid.
Posted by: Phillip | September 29, 2011 12:56 PM
Coal *can* be cleaned, but will it be? Probably not. It requires expensive retrofits that the energy lobby isn't going to pay for.
Posted by: Eric | September 29, 2011 1:46 PM
Now the question is who pays for these solar renewable energy credits. Is it the federal taxpayer, and that money comes out of our pockets? Is it a company, which passes the cost of these credits to the consumer?
Posted by: Kent | September 29, 2011 4:31 PM
Actually, the correct power designation should be expressed as 0 to 16 MW with production being mostly at 0 except for 1 min of 1 day at the summer solstice.
Posted by: Leo, Catonsville | September 29, 2011 7:59 PM
Why is the University System of Maryland paying for a university that is not public nor part of the system? Here is a list of USM universities from their website and nowhere do I see this university.
USM Institutions
Institutions
Visit one of USM's 12 Institutions:
Bowie State University Profile
Coppin State University Profile
Frostburg State University Profile
Salisbury University Profile
Towson University Profile
University of Baltimore Profile
University of Maryland, Baltimore Profile
University of Maryland, Baltimore County Profile
University of Maryland, College Park Profile
University of Maryland Eastern Shore Profile
University of Maryland University College Profile
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Profile
TW: USM is not paying to build the solar facility, it's agreeing to buy the electricity generated by it. Constellation is leasing the land from Mount St. Mary's and will own and operate it.
Posted by: kcin84 | September 30, 2011 11:29 AM
Leo you are correct that the solar facility will not actually produce 16MW of power every hour everyday. But you are misleading readers at the same time..... The project will produce at least 19,723,540 kWh a year or 19.7GWh. Thats enough power for about 1,600 modern Maryland homes every year.
The power is interconnected to the grid and mixes instantly with all the power from all the sources in the PJM power market. Utility solar actually is a favorite for energy suppliers in the summer months because its energy output profile matches the consumer demand (air conditioners) and counters the really expensive spot market prices we see on the wholesale marketplace for power during those months.
Make no mistake this is no taxpayer handout. The $170 a MWh or 17 cents a kWh bonus is actually a credit all MD electricity suppliers have to purchase on an annual basis. It not much compared to their entire load. In fact its only 0.10% in 2012, hardly enough to affect your bill when there is competition. And with no fuel costs and very minimal O&M solar is a win win for all of us for the next two decades.
Posted by: Chris Burgess | September 30, 2011 4:31 PM