Arizona to get Billion Dollar Solar Thermal Power Plant

Albiasa Solar of Spain and the Arizona Department of Commerce are set to announce the building of a $1 billion solar-thermal power plant near Kingman, Arizona, next year, which will provide power for up to 50,000 homes when fully operational in 2013.

“The arrival of Albiasa Corp. is yet another big step toward establishing Arizona as a leader in the sustainable-industries sector.” – Arizona Governor Jan Brewer

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The solar-thermal plant in Kingman will create 2,000 construction jobs and 100 permanent jobs, according to the Arizona Commerce Department. The exact location for the plant has not been announced, but the company said the Kingman area was chosen because it was one of the few places with the power line transmission capability.

“With the power loads in the Southwest cities, there are not a whole lot of power lines to get the power over there.” – Jesse Tippett, managing director for Albiasa’s U.S. operations

Two other solar thermal plants for Arizona have been announced recently, the Solana Generating Station, a 280-megawatt solar-thermal plant in Gila Bend built by Abengoa Solar, and a proposed 250-megawatt solar-thermal plant announced in December 2007 by APS, Salt River Project, and Tucson Electric Power Co., which has been shelved due to lack of agreement between the partners. The Solana Generating Station should be online in 2011.

The company is negotiating with the area’s utilities for purchase agreements for power from the plant in order to get financing, possibly through Arizona Public Service Co. or Pacific Gas and Electric. Albiasa incorporated a U.S. subsidiary in August of 2008, and is looking to establish an office in the southwest.

[Via AZ Central]

Image: NREL