Associate General Manager Mark Bonsall said that the project, which still requires the approval of SRP’s board of directors, is scheduled to be completed by mid-2011 at the latest and possibly as early as the end of 2010.
Iberdrola is negotiating for a 150-acre site in the south East Valley for the plant. If that land deal cannot be completed, SRP will provide a site that it owns near the intersection of Judd and Attaway roads southeast of Queen Creek. Mark Bonsall said that both locations are near major transmission lines.
A customer interested in receiving power from the plant would sign an agreement to purchase the amount of electricity that would be equal what would be produced by a rooftop solar photovoltaic unit, Bonsall said. The arrangement allows the customer to buy solar energy without the hassles of arranging for construction of a rooftop unit or paying a large up-front cost, he said.
SRP officials believe solar customers will save money overall because of economies of scale resulting from one large plant at one location instead of custombuilding separate rooftop units for individual home and business.
“We think there are people who will be interested in this configuration,” he said.
He said, however, SRP will continue to subsidize and support individual rooftop solar units because some customers may prefer them.
