Agua Caliente Solar Project

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Agua Caliente Solar Project
Agua Caliente Solar Project is located in Arizona
Agua Caliente Solar Project
Location of Agua Caliente Solar Project in Arizona
Country United States
Location Yuma County, Arizona
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Status Operational
Commission date 2011
Construction cost $1.8 billion
Solar field
Type Flat-panel PV
Site area 2,400 acres (971 ha)
Power generation
Units operational 5,200,000
Nameplate capacity 290 MWp
Annual generation 626 GWh[1] (71 MW avg)

The Agua Caliente Solar Project is a 290 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic power station, built in Yuma County, Arizona using thin-film technology based CdTe PV panels manufactured by First Solar.[2] The project was completed in April 2014.[3][4]

History

39 MW was online as of December 2011 and 100 MW was completed as of April 2012.[5] 200 MW was completed as of July 2012,[6] and 247 MW in August 2012, when the 10th section was completed. The addition of more panels has halted until 2013, with crates of panels covered to protect them.[7]

Project overview

In August 2011, the Department of Energy finalized a $967 million loan guarantee for the project. The project sponsor, NRG Solar, estimates the photovoltaic generation facility will fund approximately 400 construction jobs and 16 full-time operating jobs, and will be one of the largest plants of its kind in the world when completed.[8] The power produced will be sold to PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) in California in a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement.[1][9]

The Series 3 thin film panels use CdS/CdTe,[10] and are rated from 77 watts to 82.5 watts each,[11] and are mounted at a fixed tilt angle. 20,940 are connected in each array, rated at 1.26 MWAC, and over 400 SMA 720CP inverters are used. Two inverters are connected to each array.[12]

Award

In February 2012, Agua Caliente competed in the Excellence in Renewable Energy Awards and won Project of the Year Award.[9]

Electricity production

Generation (MWh)[13]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
2012 2,830 41,750 49,640 50,440 52,650 54,140 52,830 41,780 33,535 34,138 413,733
2013 45,555 53,720 61,050 64,998 65,452 63,631 61,470 64,870 64,605 48,294 47,742 50,790 692,177
2014 50,560 66,490 69,912 74,990 73,533 71,022 67,401 63,912 60,676 60,676 55,189 36,706 741,181
2015 46,007 54,670 65,495 70,829 70,829 69,880 69,307 70,319 60,023 56,974 54,110 49,378 737,821
2016 49,412 58,327 107,739
All-Time Total 2,692,651

See also

References

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External links

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  3. http://breakingenergy.com/2014/04/30/worlds-biggest-solar-pv-plant-a-feather-in-does-cap/
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  10. http://www.power-technology.com The world's biggest solar power plants, 29 August 2013
  11. http://www.powermag.com/agua-caliente-solar-project-yuma-county-arizona/?pagenum=1
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