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APS announces program for solar power facility
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A more than $1 billion solar-powered energy plant planned near Gila Bend is expected to create 1,500 construction jobs and supply power to more than 70,000 households in Arizona.
The plant, Solana Generating Station, will cover three square miles about 70 miles south of Phoenix and will produce 280 megawatts of power, making it the largest solar power facility in the world.
Solana — Spanish for “sunny place” — will be built and operated by Abengoa Solar, a Spanish technology company that will sell its power to Arizona Public Service and its customers beginning in 2011.
Abengoa and APS officials and Gov. Janet Napolitano outlined the planned energy plant Thursday at a news conference at the Arizona Science Center in downtown Phoenix. “This is a win for Arizona,” Napolitano said. “It shows the rest of the world we’re a forward-moving state.” Besides adding to the state’s economy, the new plant will offer Arizonans a clean and efficient source of energy.
Abengoa has more than 20,000 employees in more than 70 countries through five business units, according to CEO Santiago Seage. “This is a new era in the energy sector in the United States,” said Seage. “In Arizona, we’ve found the right mentality and business climate to make this happen.”
Seage said the energy plant will capture solar heat and convert it to steam, which will be stored and used to generate electricity for APS customers.
He urged members of the Arizona Corporation Commission and other local and state officials in the audience to not only approve and support the project, but also to push to extend the tax credit for solar-powered plants. The 30 percent investment tax credit expires this year unless Congress extends it.
The plant will cover an alfalfa farm, but will use an estimated 75 percent less water compared with the farm, according to APS, which also reported it will spend $4 billion buying power from the plant over 30 years.
“It’s a monumental project for APS,” said Don Brandt, president of the electricity utility that serves about 1.1 million customers in Arizona. “And, it will put Arizona on the map as the solar capital of the world. We’re taking solar power to the major league.”
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