As council agrees to project, company touts savings of $10.6M
over life
Hollister City Council members approved an agreement with a
solar company planning to fully finance the placement of panels
adjacent to the wastewater treatment plant while touting millions
of dollars in savings to taxpayers through energy-cost
reductions.
Council members approved the deal with ClearSpot Energy in a 4-0
vote, with Councilman Ray Friend recusing himself with a conflict
because he works for Pacific Gas
&
amp; Electric, which initially proposed to power the treatment
plant finished last year.
As council agrees to project, company touts savings of $10.6M over life
Hollister City Council members approved an agreement with a solar company planning to fully finance the placement of panels adjacent to the wastewater treatment plant while touting millions of dollars in savings to taxpayers through energy-cost reductions.
Council members approved the deal with ClearSpot Energy in a 4-0 vote, with Councilman Ray Friend recusing himself with a conflict because he works for Pacific Gas & Electric, which initially proposed to power the treatment plant finished last year.
The company – which lists its partners as Rosendin Electric, IBEW and Gavilan College – intends to build a 1.2 megawatt solar plant around the treatment facility at no cost to the taxpayers. Though the precise number of panels is unclear – it will depend on which manufacturer ClearSpot goes with – the company at this point expects to use around 5,500 solar panels placed just north of the treatment plant at 2690 Old San Juan Highway where 170,000 square feet sit unused, said Gary Banta, the project’s managing director.
Atherton-based ClearSpot then would sell the clean energy to the city at a discount and it has estimated the arrangement would save Hollister up to $10.6 million over a 30-year span, according to a report provided by the company, which will pay all operating and installation costs of about $6.5 million.
The private company’s expected revenue would be realized from its relationship with the city and the savings from the plant, Banta said.
Mayor Victor Gomez supported the proposal, but acknowledged the cost-savings estimates might end up being higher than what occurs. He said a more detailed report provided to council members noted those savings could be as low as $2 million over the project’s life. What makes him comfortable with the project is the company’s commitment to fund capital and operating costs.
“This is a project that would have been very difficult for us to do by ourselves. It was a great way to move forward with the project,” said Gomez, adding how such partnerships are “new to everyone.”
Banta, meanwhile, said his goal is to make Hollister and San Benito County “the greenest city and greenest county in the state.”
“I think this is a major step forward in the community,” Banta told the Pinnacle, noting how it will bring jobs into the county while saving residents energy costs.
ClearSpot also notes in its report – first presented to the council two weeks ago – that the solar panels will help avoid 1.13 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year, which it says it equivalent to not burning 1.55 million gallons of gas over the system’s life.
Another added benefit ClearSpot touts is a component to the project that involves training for Gavilan College students.
According to ClearSpot’s report, the company plans to partner with teachers to develop a curriculum, with training about renewable energy projects such as those involving solar. Banta said that process will start as the partners “roll out the program.”
As far as a time frame goes, Banta said it would be a “few months” before ClearSpot starts construction and that all the panels would be placed at once.
Friend, meanwhile, recused himself and noted to the Pinnacle on Wednesday how PG&E had planned to get involved at the outset and that he, in his full-time job, would have been affected by it.
“My concern would be at the get go, PG&E was going to upgrade some equipment to provide that power,” said Friend, adding how the utility actually encourages such alternative energy arrangements.
