U.S. Government Property to Have Largest Solar Installation

Arizona Public Service Co. is planning to build a new photovoltaic power plant at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Ariz. It will be able to generate about 15-megawatt of clean renewable energy. According to company, the solar plant will be the largest on U.S. government property and it is expected to be ready in summer 2011.

The solar installation will be equipped with 52,000 high-efficiency SunPower solar panels. It will also have a single-axis tracking system that will let the panels to follow the sun. This way, it captures 25% more electricity than if the panels were stationary.

The plant will generate enough energy to power 3,750 Arizona homes or 50% of the Base's electricity.

[Source: MarketWatch]

Read more...

Enbridge to Build North America's Biggest Solar Plant

The Canadian company Enbridge, in collaboration with First Solar is working on the North America’s largest photovoltaic solar energy facility. The Sarnia Solar Project in Ontario is already producing 20 megawatts of energy, but Enbridge wants to make it to generate about 80 megawatts.

Project construction is scheduled to be completed in September. It will also keep about 39,000 tons of CO2 a year out of the atmosphere and will generate enough electricity to feed 12,800 homes. According to Enbridge officials, in this new facility has been invested $300 million(Canadian).

Read more...