Arizona Western College (AWC); Main Street Power Co. Inc., a national solar financier; MS Solar Solutions Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley; PPA Partners, a solar developer; Arizona Public Service, the local utility; Rosendin Electric; and Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona have inaugurated a 5 MW PV plant at AWC.
The installation is expected to provide 100% of the college's daytime electricity needs. It brings together five different 1 MW photovoltaic technologies for a 23-acre system that will power the campus and enable clean energy workforce development and training, as well as research opportunities. The installation is expected to return $62 million to the college in cost savings and other revenues over the 30-year power purchase agreement with Main Street Power.
The system will be owned and operated by a project company managed by Main Street Power, as part of its long-term financing program with MS Solar Solutions Corp. The technologies in the installation include concentrator photovoltaic systems with dual-axis trackers from SolFocus and GreenVolts, thin-film panels from Sharp Solar, monocrystalline panels from SolarWorld, polycrystalline panels from Suntech, and single-axis trackers from SunEdison.
