Behold The World's Largest Solar-Panel Power Plant -- In Arizona

[jpak]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/uciliawang/2014/04/29/behold-the-worlds-largest-solar-panel-power-plant-in-arizona/

A 290-megawatt project and the largest solar-panel power plant in the world has risen in Arizona and will send electricity to California under a 25-year contract, its owners said Tuesday.

The project, owned by NRG Energy NRG -0.27% and MidAmerican Solar, sits on 2,400 acres between Yuma and Phoenix. They hired Arizona-based First Solar FSLR +1.75% to build and operate the project, which also uses First Solar’s thin film solar panels that rely on a compound of cadmium-telluride to convert sunlight into electricity.

Called Agua Caliente, the project will ship electricity to San Francisco-based Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which signed a 25-year purchase agreement. At maximum production, the project will generate enough electricity for about 230,000 homes. Solar electricity production depends heavily on the weather, however. A cloudy and rainy day will cut the solar farm’s production significantly.

We’ve seen a growing number of large solar power projects (over 100 megawatts each) coming online in California and Arizona in the last few years. The construction boom reflects state policies to replace fossil fuel power generation with cleaner energy sources. California, for example, requires its utilities to get 33% of their electricity supplies from renewable sources by 2020.

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[gejohnston]

1. while it is a step in the right direction

I would rather the panels be on roof tops and other urban real estate instead destroying farm land and wilderness.