New APS AZ Sun Project Under Way
PHOENIX, Sep 13, 2012 -- BUSINESS WIRE
Arizona Public Service and McCarthy Building Cos. have
started the permitting process for a new solar photovoltaic
facility - the Hyder II Solar Power Plant - located in Hyder,
Ariz.
APS selected McCarthy to engineer, procure the materials and
construct the 14-megawatt (MW) facility.
"Hyder II is the sixth AZ Sun Project for APS," said Barbara
Lockwood, APS General Manager of Energy Innovation. "Through the
AZ Sun Program, we are adding 200 MW of solar photovoltaic power
plants across the state by 2015. We expect that these plants
will generate clean energy for at least the next 30 years."
The AZ Sun Program was approved by the Arizona Corporation
Commission and enables APS to invest in the development of up to
200 MW of solar photovoltaic plants across Arizona. APS will
finance and own the projects, which are being designed and
constructed by third-party solar developers, contractors and
equipment providers.
"Hyder II will be the third solar project we have worked on
for APS, and we couldn't be more pleased to work with them
again," said Dennis Tucker, Executive Vice President of McCarthy
Building Cos. "Our system engineering and construction expertise
will help APS harness the power of the sun and turn it into
clean, renewable energy. Plus, the project will bring 150 local
jobs to Arizona."
Construction on Hyder II is expected to begin in April.
Located on 240 acres, the project will include more than 71,000
single-axis tracker PV panels that will generate enough solar
energy to power more than 3,500 Arizona homes. The single-axis
tracker design enables the solar panels to follow the sun across
the sky. Commercial operation is expected to take place in late
2013.
The five-year AZ Sun program will create more than 2,000
Arizona construction jobs. With Hyder II, the program has 68 MW
under development (Hyder II, 19 MW in Chino Valley, and 35 MW in
Yuma). The program already has placed 50 MW online, two 17-MW
plants in Gila Bend and a 16-MW plant in Hyder. Hyder II will
sit adjacent to the existing Hyder plant.
Earlier this summer, APS issued a request for proposal for an
additional 32 MW to be located in Gila Bend.
APS, Arizona's largest and longest-serving electricity
utility, serves more than 1.1 million customers in 11 of the
state's 15 counties. With headquarters in Phoenix, APS is the
principal subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (NYSE: PNW).
SOURCE: APS
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