I have been a huge supporter of bringing large solar projects to Arizona. I would like to see American companies take the lead. It is disappointing that a country from Spain was able to lead this, but that shows us how we are behind in this field of research and manufacturing. The valley is the perfect place to grow Solar research, manufacturing and produce Solar energy.
The infrastructure to research Solar energy is all set up in Chandler. Where the silicon chip factories and research facilities have left the state, they left a whole that can easily be filled by Solar. The growth in demand for energy over the next 20 to 30 years is so huge. We will either be in the boom or pay others that get there first.
Being a Realtor, I am seeing many people relocate here for jobs at Solar companies. Solar is growing in Arizona, but slowly. Plus there seems to be so much mis-information out there about Solar, the benefits and the costs.
What do you think?
Feds to back loan for solar project
Gila Bend power station could open by mid-2013
by Ryan Randazzo – Jul. 4, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
President Barak Obama announced Saturday that the federal government will provide a $1.45 billion loan guarantee through the stimulus act for the Solana Generating Station solar-power plant in Gila Bend.
The plant will be one of the largest solar projects in the country and the first to store heat on a large scale so that it can continue to make electricity after sunset. Its developers have struggled for two years to find a decent loan amid the recession.
Obama discussed the loan guarantee during his Saturday radio address, giving the plant the assistance it will need to finally move ahead.
The plant could now open by mid-2013 after originally being scheduled to open in 2011.
It will sell its power to Arizona Public Service Co., helping Arizona’s largest electric utility meet a state requirement that it get 15 percent of its energy from renewable power sources by 2025.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2010/07/04/20100704biz-feds-back-solar-project-loan0704.html#ixzz0soVdnixP
“We’re going to keep fighting to advance our recovery,” Obama said. “And we’re going to keep competing aggressively to make sure the jobs and industries of the future are taking root right here in America. That’s one of the reasons why we’re accelerating the transition to a clean-energy economy and doubling our use of renewable-energy sources like wind and solar power – steps that have the potential to create whole new industries and hundreds of thousands of new jobs in America.”
Solana will be built and operated by Abengoa Solar Inc. of Spain.
“After years of watching companies build things and create jobs overseas, it’s good news that we’ve attracted a company to our shores to build a plant and create jobs right here in America,” Obama said.
The 280-megawatt plant will be able to generate enough electricity to serve 70,000 houses at once when running at full capacity and will be able to make power during the peak hours of demand from about 4 to 7 p.m., when traditional solar panels generate little electricity in the low light of dusk.
The entire cost of designing, building and connecting the plant to the power grid is about $2 billion.
Work could begin by the end of summer, said Kate Maracas, vice president of operations for Abengoa Solar, and that wouldn’t be happening without the loan guarantee that gives the company access to funds from the Federal Finance Bank.
“It would have been a completely viable project without the crash of the markets,” Maracas said. “But lenders became very skittish.”
She said Abengoa has been working more than a year with the Department of Energy on the loan.
“There’s no doubt in this economy the only way to actually finance a large solar project is through the loan-guarantee program,” said Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association in Washington, D.C.
“Obviously, the recession has caused a tremendous amount of pain for individuals but also for businesses trying to borrow money.”
Resch said the loan guarantees provide a “good return” to the taxpayer because the companies that get them must pay interest to the government.
“The good news is these are very low-risk loans,” he said. “Ultimately it is a good investment with a safe return to taxpayers, but also producing jobs and clean energy.”
He said any other large solar plants likely would need similar guarantees in the current market.
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., helped convince the administration to provide the loan guarantee.
“This historic facility will allow 70,000 Arizona homes to be powered with clean, renewable energy from the sun,” Giffords said.
“The plant also will create construction jobs and skilled permanent jobs which will add substantially to the Arizona economy.”
It will take about 1,600 people to build the plant and 85 to run it.
Solana will cover about 3 square miles of previously farmed land with mirrors that reflect sunlight onto gas-filled tubes. The heat is used to make steam and then electricity.
The plant will use less water than the crops that were grown on the farm.
American companies will earn about $1.1 million in revenue making components for Solana, including two assembly factories to be constructed at the plant. A new mirror-manufacturing facility to supply the plant will be located near Phoenix, employing about 150, according to the White House announcement.
About 97,000 receivers will be made for the plant at Schott Solar’s factory in Albuquerque.
Obama also announced a $400 million loan guarantee for Abound Solar, which plans to build solar-panel factories in Colorado and Indiana. The Colorado plant is under way; the Indiana plant will occupy a vacant Chrysler factory.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2010/07/04/20100704biz-feds-back-solar-project-loan0704.html#ixzz0soVGNoNc
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