By Emerson Drake
8/22/11
At a recent meeting the MID Board gave unanimous approval to the SunPower solar project. After the vote, MID Board Members Cecil Hendsley and Tom Van Groningen made the claim the cost of power would average .17 kwh,yet just one day before this meeting PG&E, a for profit company, announced a similar 20 year deal for .10 kwh. This constitutes a 70% difference in negotiated solar power rates.
Previously the MID has refused to make public the contract figures saying the information was contractually proprietary and could not be made public. Yet PG&E makes their contract details public.
So in an attempt to shed some light on the issue we did the following:
Last week before the start of the Modesto Irrigation District meeting, MID General Manager Allen Short was asked for a copy of the contract rate language regarding the agreement between the MID and SunPower Company which is attempting to build a solar power facility on North McHenry.
He asked if I knew that the Stanislaus Taxpayers Association (STA) had made similar inquires. I said yes and that I would like the pages directly related to the contract rate language.
He replied he had supplied them with the information but the STA was unhappy because it didn’t contain the prices MID agreed to pay Sunpower. I explained that I wasn’t interested in pages of redacted (blacked out) information.
The following is the information which we received from a source familiar with the negotiation. What we are hearing is much different than the MID’s publicly released information.
First, let us be clear that this solar power is base energy, not peak energy. That is, MID has to buy ALL the production from this plant. Even on a 35 degree sunny winter day, MID must buy the most expensive energy in their portfolio.
Second, the cost to MID is NOT .17 cents. That is the marketing lie that needs to be exposed. A PRA request for the contract language of the agreement between MID and whichever SolarPower LLC is actually doing the work will show this disparity. MID has agreed to pay market price, plus a surcharge of 7.46 cents per KWh. In January, that may be 20 cents or less. But on a hot summer day, that could be 45 cents or 75 cents, depending on the grid requirements.
Third, MID’s goal for a retail price to customers is 32 cents per KWh, the current cost is 18.08 cents. Figure it out.
WE challenge the MID to come forward and enlighten the public with the actual contract figures. The difference between the contracted PG&E rate of .10kwh and the alleged contract rate by MID of .17kwh is enough for everyone to have major concerns. And if the information we’ve been given regarding negotiated SunPower rates is accurate, the agreement borders on a total lack of responsibility and fiduciary negligence.
