Tommorrow will mark an important milestone in the growth of renewable energy in the United States — the dedication of the first solar thermal parabolic trough power plant — the 1 megawatt (MW) Saguaro Solar Generating Station – since 1998.
APS, Solargenix Inc. and Schott North America, Inc. will commemorate the completion of the first solar thermal parabolic trough power plant to be built in Arizona on Earth Day, April 22, from 10 to 2 pm in Red Rock, Ariz. The plant is located about 30 miles north of Tucson, just off Interstate 10.
The Saguaro Solar Generating Station is the nation’s first solar thermal parabolic trough power plant built specifically to produce electricity since 1988.
The Saguaro Station power plant was built by Solargenix, a solar energy development company based in Raleigh, N.C. and a subsidiary of ACCIONA Energy of Spain, a world leading company devoted to renewables. The plant will be operated by APS, Arizona’s largest and longest-serving electric utility, based in Phoenix, Ariz.
The 1 MW Saguaro Solar Generating Station has been generating electricity since December 2005, using several hundred PTR 70 solar receivers produced by SCHOTT, an international leader in innovative solar solutions.
The Saguaro Station power plant uses 100,000 square feet of parabolic mirrors to concentrate solar radiation onto its PTR 70 solar receivers. This solar radiation increases the temperature of the thermo-oil Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF) flowing through the receivers to 550F. This heated fluid is then used to turn water into steam, which drives a turbine and generates electricity.
The Saguaro Station power plant is expected to produce 2000 MWh of electricity annually, enough electricity to meet the energy demands of about 200 households. The use of solar power to produce electricity at the plant, rather than fossil fuels, is equivalent to preventing the emission of millions of pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year.
SCHOTT’s new PTR 70 solar receivers are one of the technological innovations that have helped lower the cost and improve the reliability of solar thermal parabolic trough power plants.
“For many years, renewable energy has been seen as too unreliable and too expensive to compete with fossil fuels,” said Steve Russo of SCHOTT’s North American solar thermal business. “Thanks to innovations such as the PTR 70, solar thermal power and other forms of renewable energy are now a real alternative to traditional sources of energy.”
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