One of the plants is a 50-megawatt wind farm; another is a 2.2-megawatt biogas generator at a landfill. The other eight are solar installations.
The solar plants will range in size from 2 to 35 megawatts and will use both solar-thermal and photovoltaic technology. Already, TEP has contracted to buy power from a number of other solar sites: The company announced in the past that it expects to buy the output of a 25-megawatt photovoltaic array and a 5-megawatt concentrating solar plant by January 2012.
Paul Bonavia, the CEO of TEP, was effusive about the new solar projects. "These systems will dramatically expand our renewable energy assets, helping us meet or even beat our state goals while establishing TEP as a national leader in solar energy," he said.
Arizona has directed its utilities to buy 15 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2025. With new projects coming on line in the state all the time, it should be able to meet or beat that goal.
