Jamail & Smith Construction completes first Solar Panel project in Texas with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds

(April 27, 2010 - Austin, Texas) Jamail & Smith Construction is proud to announce the completion of the first solar panel project in Texas with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. The City of Horseshoe Bay partnered with Jamail & Smith Construction and Texas Solar Power Company to apply for a $311,397 grant from SECO, Texas Comptroller’s State Energy Conservation Office, through the Distributed Renewable Energy Technology Program. The grant award was announced on March 16, 2010. The project consists of a 45.4 kW, 4,100 square foot, roof-mounted, photovoltaic (solar) system located at the City’s water treatment facility.

Already operational, the solar panels and monitoring system display real-time data about the solar power system’s energy production and greenhouse gas emissions reduction. It is estimated that the photovoltaic system will save the City $6,000 in annual energy savings.  Mark Rangel, Texas Solar Power Company General Manager, said, "The plant uses about 80,000 kilowatts a month. The total consumption (from outside sources) is going to be reduced by 10 percent through these solar panels." Construction was expedited by using the TASB BuyBoard cooperative purchasing contract, held by Jamail & Smith Construction since 2006. “By utilizing the BuyBoard, our prices are already competitively priced which alleviates having to go through the bidding process, saving time and money,” says Michael Doucette, Jamail & Smith Construction Austin Regional Manager. "We were able to finish this project, from award to final completion, in 13 days.” The City of Horseshoe Bay celebrated the completion of the project with a press conference and ribbon cutting event on April 26th at the Water Treatment Plant. 

The purpose of the Renewable Energy Technology Program is to increase the amount of installed renewable energy in Texas, develop renewable energy potential and assist in meeting the state’s target of 10,000 megawatts by 2025. To date, the comptroller has awarded $31,388,474 of the $52 million allocated for the program. Jamail & Smith Construction and Texas Solar Power Company are working with six other public entities (to date) to construct solar panel systems for their facilities.