In the first part of this article the basics of solar power and photovoltaic (PV) cells were discussed. In this second part of the article some details regarding two specific solar power projects in Ohio will be presented.
Solar panels at the Akron bus garage:
A more detailed analysis of the project to install solar panels on the roof of the Akron Metro Bus Garage is included in the simple two page slide show attached to this article. Information was taken for the Ohio Government press release and a similar press release provided by Sharp, the manufacturer of the 235 Watt solar panels being used, model NU-U235F1.
To conduct the cash flow analysis information regarding the average commercial price of electricity in Ohio was taken from the DOE EIA, and information regarding the expectation that the efficiency of the solar panels will degrade approximately 1% per year was taken from Geoffrey Styles and his opinion of the Akron project on Energy Outlook.
The more detailed analysis, taking into account inflation and the average commercial price of electricity, indicates that the investment of $2,500,000 will not be paid back during the expected life of the solar panels. Further, note that two very generous assumptions were made that actually err on the side of the solar panels; (1) since Operation & Maintenance costs are not documented, it was assumed that there will be no such costs; and (2) the full credit for the commercial price of electricity is applied to the entire expected annual energy output of the solar panels. It is known, however, that any electricity not used by Akron Metro RTA will be sold back onto the grid, and the RTA will be paid far less than commercial price for this electricity.
Turning Point Solar array planned for southeast Ohio:
Information regarding the 500 acre solar array to be installed in southeastern Ohio, beyond the initial Ohio government press release, is proving harder to find.
We know that the entire array will be comprised of 239,400 solar panels, will be rated at 50MW, and will cost $250,000,000. This makes it roughly 100 times the size and 100 times the cost of the Akron Metro RTA project. It is fairly easy to guess that performance and pay back will be equally dismal.
One thing we need to consider, however, is that the Turning Point Solar array is a commercial power generation venture, which means it will need to sell its power to distributors like AEP on the wholesale market. The annual average wholesale price of electricity is far less than the commercial retail price which the Akron RTA pays, making any return on investment for the massive Turning Point Solar Array even less likely; unless someone raises the price we pay for electricity.
Unfortunately, the move to deliberately raise the cost of electricity is already happening. The press release notes that AEP is already negotiating a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to buy electricity from the array at elevated cost. They need to do this to meet the requirements of the mandates imposed by Ohio Senate Bill 221. So far, there is no specific indication regarding how much more AEP will pay for electricity from the solar array, or how much Ohioans can expect their electric bills to increase.
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