MASSIVE SOLAR PLANT SLATED FOR KINGMAN, ARIZONA

Those if you who drive from Phoenix to Las Vegas have been through Kingman, Arizona.  It's a growing town in northwest Arizona that is expected to continue its population growth due to its proximity to the Las Vegas area and its location at the intersection of several major land shipping routes.   Now Kingman is vying to build something the Phoenix area has still not been able to - a large scale solar power plant. 

The Business Journal reports today that another Spanish solar power company - Albiasa Corp. - has proposed building a $1 billion, 200-megawatt solar power plant in Kingman on 1,400 acres of private land.  This comes on the heels of a proposed 280-megawatt plant near Gila Bend - 45 minutes southwest of Phoenix - that is to be buit by Spanish company Abengoa.  That plant has regulatory approval, but is stalled amidst a search for financing.   The question of course is whether Albiasa will run into the same financing problems that Abengoa is and how quickly they will be able to get a plant up and operational.

Both solar plants plan to use solar thermal technology where parabolic mirrors track the sun and heat up molten salt in tubes.  The heat from the molten salt turns steam turbines, creating electricity.

According to the article, Albiasa has not yet signed a power purchase agreement with a utility company to sell the electricity generated.  So it remains to be seen whether one of the Arizona utilities will be able to use this electricity toward meeting its renewable energy requirements set by the Arizona Corporation Commission.  According to the article, there is a fairly strong chance that the power will instead go to California due to the lack of high tension power lines needed to route it to downstate Arizona.

The benefit to Arizona of these new solar power plants, besides cleaner air through renewable energy, is jobs.  Both plants expect to create several thousand construction jobs initially, then several hundred ongoing jobs.  Of course, much of the profit will be going to foreign owners (Spain in this case).  It would be nice if a portion of those profits can somehow be earmarked for reinvestment in more solar development here in Arizona.

I have previously written about the Abengoa plant, named Solana, here if you are interested.

Comments

[fireofenergy]

This is pretty cool (until the dust bowls begin). I love the concentrated solar thermal concept but hate the way "they" plan to bulldoze the desert! Can't these mirrors be post erected on unspoiled ground instead? (The parabolic trough concept has to scape the land, uh). Therefore, people need to instead promote the solar power tower concept (which may cost a little more but can store heat at a higher and more efficient temp).

The only other options are nuclear thorium (not uranium) fission, yet to be (re)developed) or the solar dish (which is way efficient) and wind (but with some sort of storage).

Conservation is not an option, just an alternative for the meantime.

[Photovoltaic Cells]

Thanks for this great post...