Jan 28 2011
SOLON Corporation, a Tucson-based producer of crystalline silicon solar modules and provider of turnkey type of solar power plants in the USA, declared that it has completed the installation of a 1.6 MW solar power plant in conjunction with Tucson Electric Power Company (TEP).
TEP will integrate the produced power in its grid, to supply the residents of Tucson and include it in its renewable energy portfolio.
TEP is planning to distribute the power to the residents utilizing its newly formulated Bright Tucson Community Solar program. The program will enable the clients of the company to buy the solar power in 150 kWh blocks thus removing their dependence on conventional fossil power. The solar plant is located in the newly created Solar Zone at the Science and Technology Park of University of Arizona. The installed solar plant incorporates SOLON’s Velocity MW system, a pre-installed modular type of system with 1 MW solar clusters. The system incorporates a streamlined concept with lesser number of individual components, fewer number of connection requirements thus allowing reduction in installation and maintenance time. The installation comprises 5,800 solar panels erected over 11 SOLON single-axis tracker system. The patented tracker system tracks the movement of the sun all through the day thus allowing 25% of increased output than the normally utilized fixed tilt systems.
SOLON offered EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) services for building the 1.6 MW system installed over 14 acres of area. It began the construction in October 2010 and ended it in December 2010. The solar panels installed will generate around 3,000,000 kWh of electricity during the first year and will generate around 60,000,000 kWh in around 20 years.