In windswept West Texas, Austin Energy's future is powered by the sun

[TexasTowelie]

The solar panels cover 1,000 acres at the East Pecos Solar Facility.

PECOS COUNTY — In the desolate quiet of West Texas, miles from any post office or gas station, sits an ocean of glass and silicon pointed skyward. Here, rows of solar panels fill 1,000 acres of this windswept landscape — tracing the path of the sun, shimmering in its light, soaking up its rays and converting them into electricity.

The new solar plant, about a half-hour’s drive east of Fort Stockton, is Austin’s latest salvo in its years-long push to combat climate change by transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable generation, sometimes at higher cost.

“Right now, with solar prices dropping as much as they have, they are the best value now and, clearly, our best value 20 years from now,” said Michael Osborne, a former official at Austin Energy, longtime environmental activist and current member of the city’s electric utility oversight commission. “They make us money, they’ll make us money in 10 years, and that’s without any carbon costs.”

An examination of the East Pecos Solar Facility reveals its size: The Southern Power-owned facility consists of 1.2 million solar panels, capable of generating 120 megawatts of electricity. The Alabama-based firm announced the plant had begun commercial operation Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/local-govt--politics/windswept-west-texas-austin-energy-future-powered-the-sun/QCTGREL3d0aG1VRDZE4NRI/