Solar Power Troughs to Cover Three Square Miles of Arizona

Abengoa Solar, a subsidiary of a multi-billion-dollar international technology company based in Spain, has signed a contract with the electric utility Arizona Public Service Co. to build, own and operate the new generating station.

Abengoa will sell the electricity produced to Arizona Public Service, APS, over the next 30 years for an estimated total revenue of around $4 billion, bringing over $1 billion in economic benefits to the state of Arizona.

"APS has signed this agreement with Abengoa Solar because of its experience developing and building large solar plants in Spain, Morocco and Algeria," said Don Brandt, president of APS, Arizona's largest electric utility.

Located 70 miles southwest of Phoenix, the planned solar plant has been named Solana, meaning "a sunny place" in Spanish.

The Solana Generating Station will have a total capacity of 280 megawatts, enough to power 70,000 homes while avoiding over 400,000 tons of greenhouse gases that would otherwise contribute to climate change.

The plant will employ a proprietary concentrating solar power trough technology developed by Abengoa Solar, and will cover a surface of nearly three square miles.

A concentrating solar power trough like the ones that will be installed in Arizona. (Photo courtesy Abengoa)

The solar trough technology uses trackers with high precision parabolic mirrors that follow the Sun's path and concentrate its energy, heating a fluid to over 700 degrees Fahrenheit and using that heat to turn steam turbines.

The solar plant will also include a thermal energy storage system that allows for electricity to be produced as required, even after the sun has set.

The construction of the Solana Generating Station will create about 1,500 construction jobs and the power plant will employ 85 skilled full-time workers once completed.

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano called the project "a major milestone for Arizona in our efforts to increase the amount of renewable energy available in the United States."

Abengoa Solar CEO Santiago Seage said, "This project not only shows leadership in Arizona and the southwest, but for America. This project will help usher in a new era of large clean and efficient solar power plants."

"This project is one of the most significant on the planet and it could not have happened without the vision and leadership of APS and its senior management," said Kate Maracas, vice president of Arizona Operations for Abengoa Solar. "Seldom have we worked with a partner so committed to the future of solar energy and to bringing clean sources of power generation to its customers."

Abengoa Solar's ultimate objective is to build and operate large solar plants that will supply gigawatts of electric power across the Southwest in collaboration with the leading utility companies.

Abengoa Solar is currently operating the world's first commercial concentrating solar tower in Spain, a demonstration trough plant, and the world's first commercial photovoltaic low concentration plant.

"Our commitment to solar energy is global," Seage said, "and we will work with utilities, regulators and companies worldwide to make plants like this happen by leveraging the technologies we have been developing over two decades. We continue to advance these technologies in our research and development centers in Europe and the United States."

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.