New APS AZ Sun Project Under Way

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.

1 2 Next › Last »