Arizona Public Service brings Solon-built 17MW Cotton Center Solar Plant online in Gila Bend

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Arizona Public Service’s (APS) Cotton Center solar plant has officially come online in Gila Bend, Arizona. The 17MW facility was developed and constructed by Solon and brings APS’ total renewable portfolio to 930MW. Constructed on 145 acres, and using over 93,000 single-axis tracking PV panels that were placed in 1,662 rows, the project is expected to fulfill the energy needs of over 4,000 APS customers.

“With AZ Sun, APS is investing in 100MW of solar photovoltaic power plants across the state, providing a substantial boost to Arizona’s growing solar industry by financing the projects – the end result is a win for our company, a win for our customers and a win for Arizona,” said Pat Dinkel, APS VP of power marketing, research planning and acquisition. “Cotton Center is the culmination of a great partnership between APS, Solon and the Town of Gila Bend.”

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Gila Bend is also the location of APS’s first AZ Sun facility, Paloma, which was brought into commercial operation in August. Additionally, just outside Gila Bend, the 250MW Solana Generation Station is being constructed, which is expected to be in commercial operation by mid-2013.

Read Next

Premium
July 15, 2025
Virtual power plants are emerging as a potentially critical means of meeting the growing power demands from data centres in the US.
July 15, 2025
D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) has started construction at a 150MW solar-plus-storage project in the US state of New Mexico.
July 15, 2025
The US Department of Commerce (DoC) has initiated an investigation into the imports of polysilicon and its derivatives.
July 15, 2025
Indian renewable energy company SAEL Industries is developing a 5GW solar cell and 5GW module manufacturing facility in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
July 15, 2025
Greater policy clarity will be needed if Germany is realise its FPV potential, according to a report from Fraunhofer ISE.
July 15, 2025
Poland has awarded 1.6GW of solar PV in this year’s renewable energy auction, according to the country’s Energy Regulatory Office.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK