November 25, 2012

The cost of Solar energy

From the Los Angeles Times:
Solar power plants burden the counties that host them
When it comes to attracting business to California's eastern deserts, Inyo County is none too choosy.

Since the 19th century the sparsely populated county has worked to attract industries shunned by others, including gold, tungsten and salt mining. The message: Your business may be messy, but if you plan to hire our residents, the welcome mat is out.

So the county grew giddy last year as it began to consider hosting a huge, clean industry. BrightSource Energy, developer of the proposed $2.7-billion Hidden Hills solar power plant 230 miles northeast of Los Angeles, promised a bounty of jobs and a windfall in tax receipts. In a county that issued just six building permits in 2011, Inyo officials first estimated that property taxes from the facility would boost the general fund 17%.

But upon closer inspection, the picture didn't seem so rosy.

An economic consultant hired by the county found that property tax revenue would be a fraction of the customary amount because portions of the plant qualifiy for a solar tax exclusion. Fewer than 10 local workers would land permanent positions � and just 5% of the construction jobs would be filled by county residents. And construction workers are likely to spend their money across the nearby state line, in Nevada.

Worse, the project would cost the county $11 million to $12 million during the 30-month construction phase, with much of the money going to upgrade a historic two-lane road to the plant. Once the plant begins operation, the county estimates taxpayers will foot the bill for nearly $2 million a year in additional public safety and other services.

Two of California's other Mojave Desert counties, Riverside and San Bernardino, have made similar discoveries. Like Inyo, they are now pushing back against solar developers, asking them to cover the costs of servicing the new industry.
A bit more:
"The solar companies are the beneficiaries of huge government loans, tax credits and, most critically for me, property tax exemptions, at the expense of taxpayers," said county Supervisor John Benoit, referring to a variety of taxpayer-supported loans and grants available to large solar projects as part of the Obama administration's renewable energy initiative. "I came to the conclusion that my taxpayers need to get something back."

County officials were unprepared for solar developers' reaction.

"They brought in six guys with three-piece suits, a PowerPoint presentation, and said, 'Your 2% is going to cost us $3 million a year,'" said Benoit, whose district includes many of the projects. "I thought, 'Wait a minute. That means you are going to make $150 million a year....' And they wanted to give us $96,000. It's a pittance compared to the loss of value and impact of these huge projects."
And of course, California's Governor Jerry Brown is always on top of things. From Sacramento, CA's Capital Public Radio:
U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Governor Jerry Brown signed the agreement today at a solar farm near Sacramento.
Salazar and Brown took turns slapping down critics and promising big things for renewable energy:
Salazar: "Today is a reaffirmation that we are on the right track and that we are making believers out of the skeptics who never thought that we could capture the power of the sun in the way that we are capturing it today."

Brown: "It's not easy. There are gonna be screw-ups. There are gonna be bankruptcies. There'll be indictments and there'll be deaths. But we're gonna keep going - and nothing's gonna stop me. We're gonna make this state as great as we believe it to be. Thank you!" (applause)
The partnership expedites state and federal environmental reviews of proposed solar, wind and other renewable energy projects. The new agreement expands the partnership to include the building of transmission lines.
Emphasis mine: nothing's gonna stop me. Hey Moonbeam -- ever hear of We the People? Posted by DaveH at November 25, 2012 10:32 AM
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