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FRV's 25 MW, 300 acre photovoltaic array approved by Pima County Board of Supervisors
Construction of a 25 MW photovoltaic array on 305 acres of former farmland has been unanimously approved by the Pima County Board of Supervisors. Owned and operated by Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV), the array will be the region’s largest solar power generating project to date and is an important win in further establishing Tucson as a solar business center.
All of the energy produced by the system, enough to power more than 4,500 homes by its scheduled completion in April 2012, will be purchased by Tucson Electric Power. Construction of the array will create 250-300 short-term jobs beginning Fall 2011.
"We commend the Pima County Board of Supervisors for recognizing the value of this project and reinforcing our shared vision of Pima County as an ideal site for the development of cost effective, large-scale solar projects," Paul Bonavia, Chairman, President and CEO of TEP and its parent company, UniSource Energy Corporation (NYSE: UNS), said in a prepared statement. "This project will nearly double our solar energy resources while generating significant benefits for the local economy."
As with other solar developments in the region, this project has broad support from the Southern Arizona business community. The region’s ongoing commitment to solar power generation, from research and development to utility-scale arrays such as this one, has nurtured an industry that now boasts a $400 million economic impact. Solar companies in the Tucson area benefit from state and local solar incentives: http://www.treoaz.org/tucson-arizona-solar-incentives.aspx. A complete solar industry profile can be found here: http://treoaz.org/Solar.aspx.
FRV's system is one of 10 solar power projects planned for the Tucson area through power purchase agreements with private developers. TEP also is expanding its own solar power systems and providing incentives to help customers add photovoltaic arrays to their homes and businesses. In all, TEP plans to expand its solar generating capacity from 25 MW today to more than 200 MW by the end of 2014.
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