A solar-power venture backed by American Electric Power wasn’t approved by the state, but Ohio University might be able to reap the benefits if top administrators decide to finance the new solar plant.
New Harvest Ventures, one of the energy groups behind the solar panel proposal, pitched its spiel to OU administrators at the end of July, The Post has learned, but so far, university officials aren’t biting.
The Turning Point Solar project, a 50-megawatt solar plant set to be located in the western region of Noble County, has passed all levels of regulation and was expected to power as many as 40,000 homes when the plant was supposed to be used by AEP.
However, because AEP is a regulated utility, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio needed to approve the plan.
That didn’t happen.
According to a 2013 report from the commission, the state thought there wasn’t a need for the project this decade. The commission also didn’t approve the deal because AEP would have passed the costs down to AEP customers.
The report emphasized that the decision wasn’t intended to diminish Turning Points’ goals, so now New Harvest is looking for other financers, and its main target is OU.
“(The commission’s decision) put us into a different model,” said Evan Blumer, partner at New Harvest Ventures.
“The cost of renewables has been falling precipitously,” Blumer said. “We know the price of solar is a bit higher than gas, but gas prices are likely to be volatile, whereas once this is locked in it will be steady with no additional costs because it will all be capital costs.”
Top OU administrators were briefed on the economics of the group’s proposal. It was not immediately clear how much the university would have to pay toward the plant or how much solar power it would be purchasing.
Still, those backing the project have been pushing this argument: As costs for gas go up, solar will remain the same.
“You’re ending up with a blended strategy,” Blumer said. “Let’s say three years from now, gas prices rise. Solar power will help to bring down the cost. That’s our argument.”
Harry Wyatt, OU’s associate vice president for facilities, said the solar plan is just a matter of a vendor proposing a plan and the university listening to it.
“I would not say we are at the point of being in negotiations,” Wyatt said. “We’re very interested in alternative energy and how that might relate to our plans for a new power plant, but we’re not negotiating with anybody at this point in time.”
The university is in the early stages of building a new electrical power plant set to open in 2016. Executive Director of Facilities Management Mike Gebeke said other energy options are essentially off the table until that plant is online.
“Sometimes university initiatives and initiatives of vendors don’t necessarily align the way some would like, and I’ll just leave it at that,” Gebeke said, noting that OU wouldn’t receive any tax breaks for using solar power.
Gary Houser, a longtime advocate of renewable energy in Athens and a supporter of the Turning Point Solar project, said the university should step up energy diversity efforts.
“I found that the (university’s) goals for transitioning off fossil fuels aren’t moving as boldly as possible,” said Houser, who was a co-founder of OU’s Ecohouse.
He said the university is planning to use 25 percent less fossil fuels by 2032, which is apparently OU’s answer to cutting back on those energy sources.
Although OU has been making progress with environmental causes, including multiple buildings on campus that utilize solar panels — such as the Ecohouse on Dairy Lane and the composting facility at The Ridges, which is one of the largest composting units at a university in the United States — Houser feels the offer from Turning Point will help the university speed up the transition to green energy.
“We could get off fossil fuels so much sooner than 19 years,” Houser said.
By signing on with Turning Point, OU could fulfill its plan to cut fossil fuel consumption by 25 percent in about three years.
New Harvest is counting on OU doing that to get the project done. Otherwise, the plant cannot get off the ground.
“OU is not just one player in this process; they’re the key player,” Houser said. “So when they talk about a deal for 25 percent of their electricity, that’s what puts the program back on track.”
Blumer, the New Harvest Ventures partner, said the university isn’t tipping its hand either way in regard to where talks could continue from here.
“We’ve had some dialogues with senior officials at the university, and we’ve submitted a proposal to them,” he said. “Beyond that, there is no further negotiation at this time.”
Making a large investment into solar would put the university in a leadership position, and the best way to do so is within the Southeast Ohio area, Blumer said.
“(The Turning Point Solar project) is not only one of the largest solar projects planned for the eastern U.S., but it’s literally right up the street,” he said. “It’s one thing to just buy (solar) through the grid and say it’s from Arizona, that’s good. But it’s even better to say that it’s Ohio born and bred, Ohio jobs, Ohio everything.”
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