Tucson Water Department, Trico Electric Cooperative Inc. and SunPower Corp. (SPWRA) recently dedicated a 1-megawatt, ground-mounted solar power system to the City of Tucson, Arizona. This power system doubles the capacity of the solar power system of the city.
The system is built on a city-owned, former agricultural land located within Tucson Water Department's underground water storage and recovery facility, nearly 20 miles west of downtown Tucson.The project site is part of the city's Central Avra Valley Storage and Recovery Project (CAVSARP), a short and long-term water storage and recovery operation, utilizing water from the Central Arizona Project aqueduct and providing city residents with a renewable source of potable water.
The system, designed and built by SunPower, reinforces Tucson’s commitment to energy conservation, waste reduction and environmental protection. SunPower said it has installed its SunPower Tracker system on the10-acre Tuscon site, which is capable of capturing about 25% more sunlight than conventional fixed-tilt systems.
Through SunPower's technology the Tucson Water Department expects the system to ensure cost-effective delivery of energy and benefit the community on the whole.
The City of Tucson financed the system through a power purchase agreement that was signed with SunPower. Per the agreement, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) will own the system that SunPower designed, built, operates and maintains. The system received additional funding from Trico Electric via its SunWatts renewable energy incentive program. Trico Electric, the utility serving the site, will also purchase the renewable energy credits (RECs) associated with the system.
The city is hosting the system and buying the electricity it produces. The city will enjoy cost advantage on buying energy from this new system given its current bulk retail rate, with no initial capital investment.
Tucson Water is an enterprise fund of the City of Tucson. The utility operates in a manner similar to a private business. The utility provides water service to nearly 225,000 customer connections representing approximately 775,000 people within a 350 square-mile service area.
Trico Electric Cooperative Inc. is a non-profit electric cooperative serving nearly 40,000 customers in northwest Tucson, Marana, Mt. Lemmon, Corona de Tucson, Sahuarita, Green Valley, Three Points and Arivaca.
SunPower Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets and sells high-performance solar electric power technology products, systems and services worldwide for residential, commercial and utility-scale power plant customers. The company’s semiconductor-based solar cells and solar panels, which convert sunlight into electricity, are manufactured using proprietary processes and technologies. SunPower currently has a short term Zacks #3 Rank (Hold).
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