Abengoa Solar has signed a contract with Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) to build, own and operate a 280 MW solar power plant. The Solana Generating Station, scheduled to go into operation by 2011, will be located outside Phoenix, near Gila Bend, Ariz.
The plant will employ a proprietary concentrating solar power trough technology developed by Abengoa Solar, and it will cover an area of approximately 1,900 acres. Abengoa Solar will sell the electricity produced to APS over a term of 30 years, for a total revenue of around $4 billion.
‘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,’ says Kate Maracas, vice president of Arizona operations for Abengoa Solar.
The company says its objective is to build and operate large solar plants that will supply gigawatts of electric power across the Southwest. Abengoa Solar currently operates the world's first commercial CSP solar tower plant in Spain, a demonstration trough plant, and the world's first commercial photovoltaic low-concentration plant. It is also building three more CSP plants in Spain with a total capacity of 120 MW.
