Jun 2 2010
Tucson Electric Power (TEP) plans to buy energy from 10 solar power systems, a land fill gas generation project and a wind farm. The projects will provide nearly 160 MW of renewable energy that can power over 30,000 homes in the Tucson area.
Under the contracts, solar projects that would generate 107 MW will be developed in the area. TEP will also buy energy from a biogas generator planned to be built in Pima County’s Tangerine Landfill. The project will generate 2.2 MW by using methane gas as the fuel. TEP will also be purchasing nearly 50-MW generated by a new wind farm to be developed in Deming, N.M.
The capacity of the new renewable power projects will add to that of two new solar systems being planned to be built by Fotowatio Renewable Ventures and Bell Independent Power Corp. (BIPC). TEP plans to purchase the output of both solar systems, enabling it to deliver power to over 6,000 Tucson homes. Besides, TEP will also add 1.8 MW of power to its 4.6-MW Springerville Generating Station Solar System, thereby generating power for 1,000 Tucson homes.
All the proposed projects are in the initial stages and might be stalled if the developers are not able arrange the finance required. However, the additional capacity that would be developed will help TEP in pursuing renewable energy goals set by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). The rules require TEP as well as other Arizona utilities to gradually increase the use of renewable power until it reaches 15% of the energy sold by them in 2025.
Source: http://www.uns.com