Posted Feb 18, 2009, 2:12 PM
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S.A., Austin leaders want solar firms
S.A., Austin leaders want solar firms
By Anton Caputo and Vicki Vaughan - Express-News
Quote:
Leaders from San Antonio and Austin want the two communities to combine resources to land the next generation of clean technology manufacturers and make Central Texas a national leader in solar energy.
The idea, which is still in its infancy, would combine the purchasing power of two of the largest municipally owned utilities in the country to lure solar companies to the area. That will take tax incentives and political push, said Austin Mayor Pro Tem Brewster McCracken, who was among a contingent of business and academic leaders from Austin that made the trip to San Antonio to help promote the vision Tuesday.
McCracken, considered the leading candidate to be the next mayor of Austin, said the two cities have a competitive advantage over most when it comes to fostering the solar industry. That's because they have large publicly owned utilities that can help lead the way and are in Texas, where the electrical grid is more flexible than elsewhere in the country.
Despite those advantages, McCracken said the area and the state as a whole are lagging when it comes to the new energy economy.
“Even as the recession ends, we're going to have enduring damage if we do not have a successful vision,” he said. “We are completely not on the map for the next big thing, which is solar.”
The best model to follow, he told a packed house at the Witte Museum, was that of New Mexico, which “is cleaning our clock.”
That state uses a combination of incentives, rebates and loans to spur solar development as part of a plan pushed by Gov. Bill Richardson. Last year, the state offered more than $38 million in tax incentives and $8 million in other grants to California-based Signet Solar, which has started construction on a solar panel plant south of Albuquerque. The plant will employ 200 by next year and as many as 600 when it's fully built, paying an average $45,000 a year, the Albuquerque Journal reported in December.
The San Antonio Clean Technology Forum hosted Tuesday's meeting. The packed house included two of the three leading candidates for San Antonio mayor — Julián Castro and Trish DeBerry-Mejia. Both said they were intrigued by the plan.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for San Antonio and Austin to partner and lead the United States in the green economy movement,” Castro said. “I think the fact that Austin is here is quite telling and speaks of San Antonio's strength and growth.”
DeBerry-Mejia had a similar take, but cautioned that any joint effort needed a “laser focus” to ensure that San Antonio received its share. She pointed out that the last major regional economic development effort — to promote the semiconductor industry — brought tremendous benefit to the Austin area, but less to San Antonio. With San Antonio and CPS Energy being the bigger of the two partners, DeBerry-Mejia said, she wanted to make sure benefits were equitable.
“I truly believe, based on what I heard today, that we have some great opportunities as far as green jobs are concerned,” she said. “San Antonio really has some leverage as far as this is concerned, and that is with CPS (Energy). They are sort of the 800-pound gorilla here. I want to make sure that this is a win-win.”
The third candidate, City Councilwoman Diane Cibrian, did not attend the meeting because of prior city business but said she also was supportive of the idea and that similar plans are already under way.
“We are actually working with the city of Austin on the creation of a clean energy corridor as part of the mayor's initiative on sustainability,” she said. “I support the clean energy corridor. ... Working together with Austin we can accomplish this important community goal.”
After the meeting, CPS Energy Deputy General Manager Steve Bartley, Vice Chairman of the Board Derrick Howard and the leadership of the San Antonio Clean Technology Forum joined the meeting's speakers in a separate session with key members of Mayor Phil Hardberger's staff.
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The Raleigh Connoisseur It is the city trying to escape the consequences of being a city
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