U.S. Largest Solar Power Facility Approved for Austin

Posted by Big Gav in solar power

Inhabitat reports on a new solar PV power plant planned for Texas - U.S. Largest Solar Power Facility Approved for Austin

Texas is famous for having the biggest of everything, from the biggest capitol in the nation, to the largest population of livestock cattle. And while one may not immediately think of Texas as a green state, that will soon change, as Gemini Solar Development has been selected by Austin Energy to install the United States’ largest solar power facility. A green Texas? Why not!

The array will be owned by San Francisco-based company Gemini Solar Development, which will lease the plant to Austin Energy. 30 megawatts is the amount of power that will be produced by the United States’ largest solar array - enough power for about 5,000 homes, and around double the output of the current largest solar array in the US. The array will be located in a 300 acre site at Webberville, which is owned by Austin Energy, the city’s electric company.

The plant is being installed as part of the city’s plan to increase its use of renewables by 30 percent in the year 2030.

2 comments

Unknown says 11:49 PM

makes me proud that i live in Austin.

Sunbelt Solar says 4:57 AM

Maybe we could use solar thermal generation to supplement this. Solar water heating converts 65% of the energy that strikes the panel into useful energy. PV electric cells only convert at 15% efficiency, and are much more expensive. The final cost per MW is about $10000 for PV and about $2000 for solar water heating. The payback(without subsidies) for water heating is around 6-7 years if your electricity rate is 10 cents per KW/H.
Austin solar water heater