SunPower has won the right to design and build a 1MW PV system near Tucson, Arizona. The ground-mounted facility, which is scheduled to be completed in March 2011, will double city of Tucson’s solar capacity and is to be built on 10 acres of recovered agricultural land owned by the city’s water department.
“With SunPower’s experience and proven technology, we are confident that this system will maximize the amount of sunlight converted to electricity,” stated director of Tucson Water Jeff Biggs.
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Funding for the project comes courtesy of a power purchase agreement between SunPower, Wells Fargo, Trico Electric and the city of Tucson; Wells Fargo and Trico Electric will provide most of the initial capital and the city government will host the plant and buy the electricity produced.
“Tucson’s commitment to solar energy should be a source of tremendous pride for every Arizonan,” Giffords said. “With this project, solar energy production hosted by my hometown will double, and that will help keep costs low for consumers by locking in stable electricity costs for years to come. This high efficiency project is a smart investment in our future,” said U.S. congress member Gabrielle Giffords.
“This system will be reliably producing clean energy for years to come,” said Jim Pape, president of SunPower’s residential and commercial business group. “Tucson is leading the way in Arizona by seizing this opportunity to help meet the state’s growing energy demand and renewable energy goals.”