A Greener City: San Antonio leaders starting to take a shine to solar

The total output of the combined solar projects: 100 megawatts of clean energy, enough to power about 35,000 homes and displace enough dirty coal power to save nearly a million tons of greenhouse gases and thousands of tons of smog-forming pollutants every year, based on the current emissions of CPS Energy's coal plants.

Solar power has waxed and waned for decades, promoted by tax credits that have been given and taken away and stymied by high costs and old technology that made solar impractical for most homeowners.

But with energy prices at record highs amid a global energy crunch that will punish those who depend most heavily on fossil fuels, community leaders have started questioning the very fabric of the way the city has developed.

For the first time, city leaders and CPS Energy have joined longtime solar proponents to begin a push that Solar San Antonio pioneer Bill Sinkin believes has real possibilities.

CPS Energy has a goal of producing 100 megawatts of solar energy by 2020 and plans to begin seeking suitors for a large solar plant in the next few months.

Pearl Brewery has announced it will install solar panels capable of producing 200 kilowatts of power. The project will be the largest in Texas, surpassing the current array at San Antonio's Fort Sam Houston and joining other large local solar projects, such as the hot water system on the Bexar County Jail annex and the photovoltaic array at CPS Energy's customer service center on San Pedro Avenue.

Mayor Phil Hardberger wants to make San Antonio tops in the state for solar production, and he has not minced words about his desire to move from rhetoric to action.

“I think we ought to stop just talking about and actually do this thing,” Hardberger said. “It's time to start building a solar plant.”

Clearly, the city has a long way to go to boost its solar production.