Agua Caliente Solar Project

The Agua Caliente Solar Project is a 290 megawatt (MW_AC) photovoltaic power station, built in Yuma County, Arizona using 5.2 million cadmium telluride modules made by the U.S. thin-film manufacturer First Solar. It was the largest solar facility in the world when the project was commissioned in April 2014.[1][2]

Agua Caliente Solar Project
Country	United States
Location	Yuma County, Arizona
Coordinates	32°58′00″N 113°30′00″W
Status	Operational
Construction began	2011
Commission date	April, 2014
Construction cost	$1.8 billion
Owner(s)	NRG Energy and BHE Renewables
Operator(s)	First Solar Services
Solar farm
Type	Flat-panel PV fixed tilt
Site area	2,400 acres (971 ha)
Power generation
Units operational	5.2 million First Solar panels
Nameplate capacity	290 MWAC
Capacity factor	28.8% (average 2014–2019)
Annual net output	732 GW·h, 310 MW·h/acre
External links
Website	http://www.firstsolar.com/Resources/Projects/Agua-Caliente-Solar-Project

History

39 MW was online as of December 2011 and 100 MW was completed as of April 2012.[3][4] 200 MW was completed as of July 2012,[5] and 247 MW in August 2012, when the 10th section was completed.[6] The addition of more panels has halted until 2013, with crates of panels covered to protect them.[7] Full power was achieved ahead of schedule in September 2013.[8]

Project overview

In August 2011, the Department of Energy finalized a $967 million loan guarantee for the project. The project sponsor, NRG Solar, estimated the photovoltaic generation facility would fund approximately 400 construction jobs and 16 full-time operating jobs, and would become one of the largest plants of its kind in the world when completed.[9] The power produced is being sold to PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) in California in a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement.[10][11]

The Series 3 thin film panels use CdS/CdTe,[12] and are rated from 77 watts to 82.5 watts each,[13] and are mounted at a fixed tilt angle. 20,940 are connected in each array, rated at 1.26 MW_AC, and over 400 SMA 720CP inverters are used. Two inverters are connected to each array.[14]

Award

In February 2012, Agua Caliente competed in the Excellence in Renewable Energy Awards and won Project of the Year Award.[11]

Electricity production

2017 production

Generation (MW·h) of Agua Caliente Solar Project [8]

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
2012				2,830	41,750	49,640	50,440	52,650	54,140	52,830	41,780	33,535	379,595
2013	34,138	45,555	53,720	61,050	64,998	65,452	63,631	61,470	64,870	64,605	48,294	47,742	675,525
2014	50,790	50,560	66,490	69,912	74,990	73,533	71,022	67,401	63,912	60,676	55,189	36,706	741,181
2015	46,007	54,670	65,495	70,829	72,742	69,880	69,307	70,319	60,023	56,974	54,110	49,378	739,734
2016	49,412	58,327	67,227	66,997	75,385	69,159	73,136	69,135	60,662	60,662	50,348	43,083	743,533
2017	47,671	46,840	67,082	68,626	72,991	72,219	68,464	68,565	63,263	61,654	45,679	45,686	728,740
2018	50,151	50,877	63,711	67,512	74,187	69,705	64,469	69,550	63,477	56,043	51,746	41,896	723,324
2019	45,979	46,912	62,930	67,181	71,999	71,168	66,646	70,400	62,679	64,270	47,119	38,884	716,167
Average Annual Production (years 2014-2019) -->													732,113

See also

• Arizona Solar Center
• Solar power in Arizona

References

1. "World's Biggest Solar PV Plant a Feather in DOE's Cap". breakingenergy.com. April 30, 2014. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
2. "Agua Caliente, World's Largest Solar Photovoltaic Plant, Helps Advance America's Solar Leadership". U.S. Department of Energy. April 29, 2014. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
3. Cheyney, Tom (October 14, 2011). "Utility-scale with a capital 'U': First Solar's Agua Caliente PV project pushes toward initial power". PVTech. Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
4. "Arizona project reaches 100MW mark". UPI. 26 April 2012.
5. Katie Fehrenbacher (16 July 2012). "Huge Arizona solar panel farm now 2/3 completed". Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
6. "World's Largest Operational Solar PV Project, Agua Caliente, Achieves 250 Megawatts of Grid-Connected Power" (Press release). Tempe, Arizona: First Solar. September 10, 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-05-01. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
7. Martin, Christopher; Doom, Justin (August 30, 2012). "First Solar Stops Installation at Agua Caliente Project". Bloomberg. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
8. "Agua Caliente Solar Project, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
9. "Department of Energy Finalizes a $967 Million Loan Guarantee to Support the Agua Caliente Solar Project". Energy.gov. August 5, 2011.
10. "Agua Caliente Solar Project". CleanEnergy Action Project. Archived from the original on 2013-08-13. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
11. "Excellence in Renewable Energy Awards Winners: Project of the Year and Readers' Choice". Renewable Energy World. 17 February 2012.
12. http://www.power-technology.com The world's biggest solar power plants, 29 August 2013
13. http://www.powermag.com/agua-caliente-solar-project-yuma-county-arizona/?pagenum=1
14. Olson, Syanne (March 7, 2012). "SMA tapped to deliver more than 400 inverters for Agua Caliente solar project". PVTech. Retrieved June 17, 2013.

External links

• Project Datasheet