Thanks to Susan Garry for the excellent report of the BPCCA meeting and the Solar "Farm."

Meeting date...June 14, 2010

Coupland Area To Be Site of “Largest Solar Plant in This Country” By Susan Garry

When we envision hundreds of acres of solar panels, we may think of an unpopulated area that is not productive farmland. We probably don’t envision hundreds of acres of solar panels covering up our valuable Blackland Prairie. However, the Blackland Prairie Concerned Citizens Association (BPCCA), at their June 14 meeting, heard from a group who plans to put a solar farm on 550-600 acres on the west side of Manda-Carlson Road at Felder Lane, about 3-1/2 miles west/southwest of Coupland. Over 70 attendees filled the New Sweden Lutheran Parish Hall to hear the group describe what they called --the largest solar plant in this country . . . one of the largest in the world.

Marilyn Samuelson, BPCCA Vice President, moderated the meeting about the --City of Pflugerville Solar Farm Energy Project, a project of RRE Austin Solar. In attendance was Victor Gonzales, the mayor pro tem of Pflugerville--the site is in the Pflugerville ETJ.

The site is in the Elgin ISD (EISD), but an EISD representative did not come. A representative came from the office of Travis County Commissioner Ron Davis. Some attendees who live near the project noted that RRE has dealt with Pflugerville, Elgin ISD, and Travis County, but has not met with the people in the area. A woman noted, --This is in our neighborhood. Elgin schools and Pflugerville are way over there. At what time are you going to meet with adjacent property owners? Angelos Angelou, of Angelou Economics, the site selection agent for RRE, said they would meet with adjacent owners only after they were finished buying property.

Angelou introduced officials from the companies behind RRE: NEPC India Ltd. (Chennai, India), and Power Tech Pvt. Ltd. (Jamnagar, India): Raj Kumar Khemka, Vice Chairman of NEPC, and two directors, Mr. Mehta and one other.

Angelou explained that the $240 million project will be built over a period of 2-1/2 years. He said, --This is going to be the largest project in the state of Texas. At 60 megawatts, it will be the largest in the U.S. There will be four to five permanent employees, with three to four hundred during the construction phase. Construction could begin in January, 2011. The solar farm will connect to the nearby LCRA electric transmission line.

Elgin ISD and Pflugerville have approved the project and will give it tax benefits. RRE is expecting the support of Travis County in the near future. The project has a letter of support from the State of Texas and will receive federal incentives. Angelou said, --Governments have to incentivize or the project can’t happen.

Dr. Kurt Schroder, Coupland resident, is a physicist whose work enables advanced products in solar and printed elec- tronics markets. He noted that economics of solar do not work without government support. He said, --We don’t have solar farms in the U.S. because of economics. If the project were economically feasible, you would have private individuals doing it.

Mehta explained that 70 percent of the money is from private investors. Thirty percent will be a federal incentive from the Recovery Act to modernize the electric grid. Schroder responded that this 30 percent will come from the government, saying, --The government is the people here. The taxpayer will have to pay for this.

Mehta mentioned that the project also would benefit from the carbon tax credits that will go into effect if a cap-and- trade system passes the Congress. Schroder asked if the company would be willing to plant trees and shrubs around the perimeter to help mask the project, and both Khemka and Mehta said they would.

Area organic farmer Mike Lundgren commented that the solar panels could be linked into a rain collection system for growing food and for fish farming on the site. The RRE officials said that they would consider this possibility. The RRE presentation referred to approval from and benefits for Elgin schools and Pflugerville, although the project is several miles from Elgin schools and Pflugerville. The people who are actually next to the solar farm have no authority or re- course. However, some attendees, realizing that this large site is available for any type of project, think that a solar farm is not the worst project that could be placed here.