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Kern solar energy facility lobbies for tax credit

By COURTENAY EDELHART, Californian staff writer
cedelhart@bakersfield.com | Wednesday, Aug 20 2008 6:05 PM

Last Updated: Thursday, Aug 21 2008 10:09 AM

U.S. Rep. Jim Costa toured a solar energy testing facility Wednesday as part of his effort to push through a bipartisan energy bill.

Palo Alto-based Ausra Inc. showed off its Kimberlina Solar Energy Facility. It’s lobbying fiercely for an extension of a tax credit that benefits clean energy projects.

Costa, D-Fresno, strolled through part of the 20-acre site as engineers explained the technology of rows of giant, movable mirrors.

“That’s pretty neat,” Costa said as a technician used a computer to rotate mirrors taller and wider than the 20th District congressman’s entourage.

Ausra’s mirrors track the sun, reflecting solar heat onto boiler tubes to produce steam.

Construction started in March and steam testing is under way. The steam will drive a turbine at the adjacent Clean Energy Systems Inc. power plant.

Based in Rancho Cordova, Clean Energy Systems uses aerospace technology to produce a variety of clean fuels.

When finished, Kimberlina will be able to produce about five megawatts of energy, enough power to light up 5,000 homes.

Three rows of mirrors are up and a fourth should be complete by this fall. Electricity production is expected to start in October.

Most of the engineers for the project are based in Palo Alto. Kimberlina has seven operations employees in Bakersfield, and has created about 150 local construction jobs.

It’s not clear yet what will happen to Kimberlina once testing is finished, said Holly Gordon, vice president of legislative and regulatory affairs for Ausra.

The company also owns about 640 acres of land west of Bakersfield where it hopes to build a permanent facility that would create 350 construction jobs and about 50 permanent positions once it’s up and running.

Plans to build the Carrizo Energy Plant are under review by state regulators.

But it will be much more difficult to obtain construction financing if Congress doesn’t extend federal tax credits set to expire at the end of the year, Gordon said.

The Energy Policy Power Act of 2005 created a 30 percent tax credit for the purchase of alternative energy equipment for homes and businesses.

The House and Senate are squabbling about if and how it should be extended past Dec. 31.

Gordon stressed the importance of the credit to companies working on clean, renewable energy projects.

“Without it, I don’t think any of those projects will be moving forward in a timely fashion,” she said.

Costa said tax credits are part of a clean energy bill he introduced with fellow Democrat Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii, as well as Republicans John Peterson of Pennsylvania and Dan Burton of Indiana.

The National Conservation, Environment and Energy Independence Act, HR 6709, repeals many federal prohibitions against offshore drilling, but provides for a portion of resulting royalties to fund renewable energy projects and research.

Costa called Ausra’s work “exciting” and said without more sustainable domestic energy, the nation cannot continue to compete globally.

At the same time, the congressman said he supports a balanced approach to solving the nation’s fuel problems, including oil and gas production, until a viable alternative can be found.

“We have to use everything in our energy toolbox,” Costa said. “There is no silver bullet.”