PHOENIX — Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) today announced plans for one of the world’s largest solar facilities – a 280-megawatt (MW) concentrating solar power (CSP) plant to be built 70 miles southwest of Phoenix, in Gila Bend, Ariz. The Solana Generating Station will produce enough energy to serve 70,000 APS customers when operating at full capacity. The plant will be built by Abengoa Solar Inc., and is scheduled to provide renewable energy beginning in 2011. Spanish for “sunny place,” Solana will not emit greenhouse gases and will provide APS with more solar electricity per customer than any utility in the U.S. The facility also would be the largest solar power plant in the world if in operation today. (Video: Business Wire)
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August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
APS is the most …
APS is the most crooked service company I have ever dealt with!
Living in Arizona and being forced to use APS for your electricity needs is very expensive that most people can’t afford it. An average bill with APS is over 350 dollars during the summer months. I had to to pay over 500 dollars this month! Now they say I owe them 800 dollars! I live in a new house that is energy efficient! They even make you pay a deposit ever year about 250 dollars! scam!
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
I feel all of …
I feel all of humanity is a virus me included. Me killing myself or you killing yourself which would do the world a great favor would not help. Everyone needs to die or change the way they live or its no use. Sadly you are just like the billions of other morons on this planet that think that things will be ok even tho there is a ton of proof every single day that things are only getting worst.
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
I also stand behing …
I also stand behing my statement that you are an idiot.
You are talking about “me” and “they” never once refering to yourself. I don’t see these thing because I’m a virus? first of all you would then be that same virus by definition. second I’m not a virus.
I’m not responding to your retarding comments again. but I also stand by my comment that if you think we should go extinct why don’t you pull the trigger and kill your self?
hypocritical
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
No cutting down …
No cutting down trees for farmland and other uses,overfishing, over populating the world, pollution, the extinction of countless animals not done by nature but mans hand all these things and more are why humans need to go extinct. You don’t see these things because you are a virus all you know is multiply and eat and destroy. I stand by my statement.
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
now there is a true …
now there is a true enviromentalist, humans need to go extinct for the good of earth.
Well clearly the sollution to the problem is to put a gun to your head and pull the trigger… you first
way to be productive, its that kind of irrational bullshit that will actual cause serious problems for the enviroment.
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
anyways my point …
anyways my point was and still is that even though solar energy for the home can be fun and educational it NEEDS to be cost effective in order to work.
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
I really don’t care …
I really don’t care if I disqust you. I’m just being realistic, if it isn’t price effective it will not work. btw if you wuold have read my comment you would have realised I speaking about HOME solar power which is not cost effective large solar plant show real potential however, the hobbiest trying to play power plant could better save the environment by spending their money more wisely.
By the way I have a solar powered cabin in the woods. idiot
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
so building another …
so building another coal farm IS the solution?
so what it is expensive? its green! its zero emissio
ur just another idiot who just sees the pricetag and the moneyflow
u’d rather have a coalplant or oilpump that makes alot of money but releases greenhouse gasses, than an expensive solar plant that doesnt release anything.
u disgust me sir
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
The problem with …
The problem with people is that everything has to make money for it to be made. Why can’t the government build and maintain a mega solar power plant and pay for it with our tax dollars. Energy should be free anyway and it won’t be literally free since our taxes pay for it. Greed/Money will be the death of human kind that is if our idiotic fighting over pretty much everything or climate change at our own hands will do it first. Either way humans need to go extinct for the good of earth.
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
now I replying to …
now I replying to the comment you removed.
solar energy (while it is cool) IS NOT PRICE EFFECTIVE! It takes 25 years to break even and thats NOT counting the tens of thousand in repairs.
second the “selling energy back to the government” You don’t buy the energy from the government to begin with! You would be selling it back to the POWER COMPANY! But that requires a grid tie system and you were talking about being off the grid!
You should stfu you know absolutely nothing about this.
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
Be smart – don’t …
Be smart – don’t pay any more electricity bills. more info: solar.xfollow.me (Copy to your browser’s address bar)
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
I also wish to …
I also wish to bring up the fact that home solar energy is FAR WORSE for the enviroment than burning coal, or getting energy froma commercial solar plant or wind plant or even nuclear plant. It is the worst electricity you can get… because of the batteries, to power a house you need a lot of very toxic batteries and have to replace them often. The process to make these batteries is so toxic its not even legal in the USA and they are very toxic when you throw them out. Expensive too.
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
well, you show me …
well, you show me where I can buy 9 kW worth of solar panels for 1500 and I will buy all of them they have. If you buy that system from a dealer it would cost upward of $50,000 and the break even point would be around 25 years and that just to break even and doesn’t factor in repairs.
This is based on the
FACT that in michigan I only get 4.33 kWh/sq m/day, my average monthly usage is 900 kWh/month or about $80. I also factored in the 30% tax credit availible in michigan. you are full of it
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
nope but to make …
nope but to make your house self reliant it would only cost you about $40,000 for the average person, and then you just have to worry about replacing about $6,000 in batteries every 10 years…
I don’t know how much you pay for electricity but my bill is under $100 per month if I live another 50 years that system would have cost me 20 percent more than just buying it from the electric company. not even counting battery replacement and system maint.
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
I hope they use …
I hope they use qualified union labor for this amazing project! I am working on building a new coal fired plant in IL. This is great for our economy producing 3000 well payed union crafts with a steady job for 3-5 years, and 500 permanent jobs!
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
I work for APS… …
I work for APS… Believe me, this is a great thing. We have plenty of sunshine in Arizona and Gila Bend is a perfect place for this plant. Been there? This plant will be the most amazing thing in the town.
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
Are you kidding???? …
Are you kidding????
50w of 1Kw it’s just 5% eficiency !!!!!
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
This means free …
This means free power, right?
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
Uh, turning the …
Uh, turning the deserts into a vast dust bowl, no! Turning it into a giant black field is obviously a no no.
However, using billions of post driven COOL mirrors (without the need to bulldoze) is the final solution to unlimited SOLAR thermal power with molten salt and graphite heat storage.
LFTR (Liqiud Fluoride Thorium Reactor) may be the only “better” solution. Less Pstuff (as normal reactors), is virtually weapons grade “safe” and is definitely unlimited.
CSP provides much more jobs though!
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
What is the …
What is the eficiency of that system. We know in a good sunny day a square meter of sun ligh have about 1KW. For each 1kw of sun light, how many wats this system get?
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
It’ll be very …
It’ll be very expensive. This would put alot of boilermakers out of work. This is just a video. I would like to see the real solar plant. Then I would believe it.
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
Solar panels don’t …
Solar panels don’t reflect much so they wouldn’t work good in a mirror setup. The reason they use this setup is for cost reasons. Solar panels are expensive. I believe even the mirror technology is more expensive per kWh than our typical sources.
I think the main goal should be to get the costs down. They can keep building these plants and hopefully they will spur research and figure out economical ways.
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
I like this, as …
I like this, as anything that uses the sun and wind and waves etc. is the way the go.
But I would really like to see something on solar. non-electric refrigeration.
Back in the late 90′s, a fellow in Lineville, Alabama, built a solar powered refrigeration device. The sun’s heat was used to compress amorphous ammonia in the day. At night the compressed ammonia expanded –imitating a “normal” refrigerator/freezer.
It produced huge ice blocks.
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
how much gas and …
how much gas and nuclear can this plant take, how much gas is left in the next 100 years?
something has to change
August 30th, 2009 at 4:22 am
Amazing!
Amazing!