Jun 1 2010
Tucson Electric Power (TEP) is set to purchase a novel wind farm, a landfill gas production project and the energy output of ten novel solar energy systems that would jointly produce around 160 MW, sufficient renewable energy for powering over 30,000 homes in Tucson. UniSource Energy Corporation is the parent company of TEP.
For the review purpose, the agreements for this purchase have been submitted by TEP to the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). The endorsement of the ACC would facilitate the systems’ developers to finalize financing and other essential activities, so that power production can commence in 2011 or 2012.
Solar projects with 107 MW capacity would be created in the region of Tucson as per the contracts, such as three solar PV arrays constructed with stationary panels such as systems that can generate 5 MW, 25 MW and 35 MW capacities; four PV arrays with two 5 MW capacities each, one 4 MW capacity and one 12 MW capacity; three concentrating solar energy systems that concentrate the light of the sun onto PV material for improving energy output, with two 2 MW capacities systems and one 12 MW capacity system.
TEP is set to buy energy output of a wind farm with 50 MW capacity that is likely to be developed close to the current natural gas Luna Energy Generating Station of TEP in Deming, New Mexico.
The proposed systems are likely to complement two novel solar energy systems that are currently planned to be constructed in the area of Tucson by January 2012. One being the single-axis tracking PV array with 25 MW capacity by Fotowatio Renewable Ventures and the other a concentrating solar energy plant with 5 MW being constructed by Bell Independent Power Corp. (BIPC) at the Science and Technology Park of the University of Arizona.