By Greentech Lead Team: Tucson
Electric Power (TEP) will associate with AREVA Solar for an innovative
concentrated solar power (CSP).
This is in addition to
H. Wilson Sundt Generating Station in Tucson.
TEP’s Sundt solar boost project will
use AREVA Solar‘scompact linear fresnel
reflector (CLFR) solar steam generators to produce up to 5 megawatts (MW) of
power during peak demand periods without added emissions.
In one year, the system will allow
Sundt Unit 4 to produce enough additional power to serve more than 600 Tucson
homes.
The Sundt Solar Boost project avoids
the annual production of either 4,600 or 8,500 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2),
depending on whether the unit is running on natural gas or coal.
The Sundt Solar Boost Project is
part of TEP’s plan to expand its solar
generating capacity to more than 200 MW by the end of 2014. Its output will
help TEP meet or exceed Arizona’s Renewable Energy Standard, which requires
electric utilities to increase their use of renewable energy each year until it
accounts for 15 percent of their power in 2025.
The Sundt Solar Boost Project will
allow the company to evaluate the potential integration of CSP additions at
other power plants. The project will also further demonstrate AREVA’s
high-pressure, superheated steam offering.
“AREVA Solar’s innovative solar
boost technology gives us a cost-effective, environmentally responsible way to
expand the output of our largest local power plant without increasing
emissions,” said Paul Bonavia, chairman and chief executive officer of TEP
and its parent company, UniSource Energy.
Construction of the Sundt Solar
Boost will begin in the spring of 2012. The facility will be built on TEP
property adjacent to the Sundt plant. The project is expected to create 50 jobs
during peak construction.
“TEP is a national leader in
solar energy, and we are pleased that they’ve selected our U.S.-designed and
manufactured CLFR technology for this addition to their clean energy
portfolio,” said Bill Gallo, CEO of AREVA Solar.
AREVA’s solar steam generators can
also integrate with natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plants and can be
used in standalone solar thermal and hybrid facilities, as well as industrial process
steam applications. AREVA recently broke ground on a 44 MW solar booster
project for a coal-fired power station in Australia and currently has more than
540 MW of CSP projects in operation, under construction or in advanced
development.