Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) has announced a new 18 MW solar photovoltaic plant to be located 70 miles southwest of Phoenix in Gila Bend.
The plant will be owned by APS and sited in the town's new Solar Overlay Zone. The municipality has designated the geographic area as a fast-track permitting district for new solar photovoltaic projects.
Permitting in this area will take less than three months, instead of the typical one to two years, APS notes. Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2011and be completed in November.
APS has selected SOLON Corp., a subsidiary of SOLON SE, as the project developer. The plant will sit on 145 acres currently used for agriculture. The 75,000 solar panels needed to transform sunlight into electricity will be arranged in 1,566 rows connected to 108 single-axis trackers.
SOURCE: Arizona Public Service Co.
