Hazleton to become first city in Pennsylvania to provide own power through clean, green solar energy

As part of his plan to secure Hazleton’s financial future, Mayor Lou Barletta today unveiled plans for the city to invest in the construction of a 5-megawatt solar power plant that will provide some of the electricity the city consumes each year.

“Hazleton will become the first city in Pennsylvania to provide its own power through a solar power plant,” Mayor Barletta said. “This project will bring the City of Hazleton to the forefront of renewable energy production. The city, which was once a capitol of anthracite coal production in the United States, will become a leader in green energy.”

The Hazleton solar power plant would be placed on about 40 of the 200 acres of land the city owns at the airport. It will be a 5-megawatt plant. That’s enough to power 725 average American homes for an entire year.

Clean, green solar power generated at the Hazleton plant will be sent into the grid, where it will power City Hall, our streetlights, and other city property. Because the plant is rated at 5 megawatts, it will only be able to provide a part of the electricity requirements of the city.

“However, it is my goal that the city will share the benefits of this plant by selling some of the power generated there to neighboring municipalities, like to our friends in Hazle Township, where the plant will be located, and, possibly, the Hazleton Area School District,” Mayor Barletta explained.

“We anticipate that this plant, when operational, will be able to generate power at a cheaper rate than the City of Hazleton or any other governing body currently pays for electricity. The financial benefits of building this plant will increase after January, when electricity rate caps are lifted and our energy costs rise.”

To complete this project, the city will team with enXco, one of the most reputable full-service renewable energy companies in the United States. John Moran, East Coast Solar Developer for enXco, attended the announcement to discuss project details.

As an electricity generator, the city will receive the operating profits – the difference between what it will cost to generate the power versus what it can be sold for. This will become a new revenue stream for Hazleton. And, because Pennsylvania has specific targets for energy production from renewable sources, the city would also sell a new commodity called “solar renewable energy credits,” or “S-RECs,” to an electricity provider and generate additional revenue for Hazleton.

“Using conservative estimates, we anticipate the city will see a gross revenue increase of at least $1.6 million per year from the operation of the solar plant,” Mayor Barletta said.

Beyond the financial impact, Hazleton’s solar power plant project will have a positive environmental impact, too. The plant will generate about 6 million kilowatt hours per year. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the City of Hazleton’s solar project will produce clean power.

If a utility company generated this much power using conventional methods like coal or oil, it would pump nine and a half million pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. That’s the amount of CO2 produced by driving 824 cars for a year. It’s the equivalent of carbon dioxide produced by consuming 10,021 barrels of oil – or 57 and a half tanker trucks of gasoline.

“To put it in local terms here in hard coal country, by producing this power through solar energy and not through coal, we are saving the amount of carbon dioxide produced by burning 22 and a half railcars of coal,” Mayor Barletta said.

The lifespan of the plant is projected to be at least 25 years. Construction costs and funding details have yet to be worked out, as does a timeline for construction, but the solar power plant could begin operations in mid-2011.

Mayor Barletta made the announcement during the unveiling of his two-part plan to stabilize the city’s finances. To fund the solar project and generate additional revenue for Hazleton, Mayor Barletta announced the city will sell its municipal water company, the Hazleton City Authority.

“By selling the water authority to a private company, the City of Hazleton will receive tens of millions of dollars – enough to stabilize our current budget crisis and, when properly invested, generate millions of dollars in interest revenue for decades,” Mayor Barletta explained. “The interest payments the city will receive will fill a growing tax revenue gap until some of our projects – such as economic development surrounding the Church Street Station intermodal center and the amphitheater – begin generating taxes.”

Those interest payments will finally let the city begin investing in itself, too, by freeing up money to repave city streets, hire more police officers, strengthen the code enforcement office, buy much-needed equipment, and possibly lower taxes in the future.

Two private companies have already submitted proposals to purchase the city-owned water authority.

In recent years, Hazleton’s $9.5 million budget has been crippled by declining revenue and increasing expenses. During his presentation Thursday, Mayor Barletta showed how the city’s collected real estate taxes fell by more than a quarter-million dollars from 2004 through 2008. Other city taxes, including the Emergency and Municipal Services Tax and the Mercantile and Business Privilege Tax have also suffered losses in those four years.

Over those same four years, expenses have risen. The cost to provide a variety of insurance coverage for employees rose by more than $417,000 from 2004 through 2008. Police, fire, and highway department overtime costs have also risen dramatically.

Just three areas – real estate and EMS tax declines and insurance cost increases – cost the city’s budget more than $900,000.

It is expected that Hazleton City Council will have to implement some tax and service fee increases in early 2010. The impact of these increases will mean an average Hazleton homeowner will pay $249 a year more in taxes and fees.

“Raising taxes is always the last resort. In fact, this is the first tax increase in Hazleton during my 10-year term as mayor,” Mayor Barletta said. “But budgets for most departments have been slashed to the bare minimum. And cutting any more than we already have would jeopardize public safety. We cannot – and we will not – turn over the City of Hazleton to crime and blight. Hazleton cannot cut its way out of this.”

Mayor Barletta expressed confidence in the success of his plan.

“If you add the interest generated by investing the bulk of the proceeds of the sale of the Hazleton City Authority to the amount of money generated by the solar power plant project, you can conservatively estimate this plan will increase city revenue by more than $1.5 million per year,” he said. “And that’s without touching the bulk of the proceeds of the sale of the water authority, which will continue to generate revenue for decades to come.”

Mayor Barletta was also enthusiastic about his city’s potential role in an energy-efficient future.

“The City of Hazleton and Greater Hazleton can become a hub for green technology jobs. The land at the airport has room for up to 20 megawatts of solar power production. That is one option we can consider in the future. But I would also like to see green companies move into the area, providing good jobs – new, green-collar jobs – so our young people can stay here after they graduate from school,” he said.

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