TEP to lease 50 acres at airport for solar farm

Dec 8 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Carol Ann Alaimo The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson

Air travelers will soon have a bird's-eye view of a solar farm when they peer out jet windows at Tucson International Airport.

On Tuesday, the board that runs the airport agreed to lease 50 acres of airport land to Tucson Electric Power Co. for the next 20 years for construction of a 5-megawatt photovoltaic array.

The facility, to be built on vacant land near South Alvernon Way and East Hughes Access Road, is due to be up and running by the end of 2011.

TEP is not releasing details of the project's construction cost, said Joseph Barrios, a spokesman for the utility.

TEP is expanding its use of solar power, at the airport site and elsewhere around the city, to comply with state rules that require utilities to increase their use of renewable energy by 15 percent by 2025, Barrios said.

The solar expansion is being funded through a monthly surcharge on customers' power bills.

For residential customers, the surcharge is expected to average $3.59 a month in 2011, about 39 cents more than it was this year, TEP projects.

At 5 megawatts, the airport solar farm will have the capacity to provide a year's supply of power to about 800 homes, Barrios said.

The Airport Authority will receive close to $47,000 a year in rent from TEP.

Contact reporter Carol Ann Alaimo at calaimo@azstarnet.com or at 573-4138.