University of Arizona Science and Technology Park has chosen the UA Tech Park to introduce the “Solar Zone.” This $32 million project is planned in 45 acres of area. The entire area will be covered with parabolic solar mirrors to capture the solar energy. The plant is expected to generate enough electricity to power more than 1,500 average homes of Tucson and reducing up to 1600 tons of carbon emissions. Tucson Electric Power customers will begin to receive the supply by May 2011. This project is not all about producing electricity, but is also aimed to integrate research and industry to develop and promote renewable energy.
The project is under the supervision of Bell Independent Power Corp., Rochester, New York, a developer of thermal storage technology for Concentrated Solar Power. The plant can store the energy captured from the sun for hours, which enables it to supply electricity even in cloudy conditions. After intense research for five years, Bell has come up with new state-of-the-art 5-MW solar plant and hopes to demonstrate its ability to improve the efficiency of a facility by 50 percent. If constructed successfully, Solar Zone will be the first of its kind renewable energy project.
Via: UANews
