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As an environmentally conscious company, we are committed to developing clean, renewable energy sources today that will fuel tomorrow’s economy.
APS has long been a leader in the development of renewable technology. With solar installations across the state and with the operation of the APS Solar Test and Research (STAR) Center, APS is one of the industry leaders in solar technology. Recently the company has begun exploring other renewable technologies that we hope to develop into mainstream energy sources that can power a 24-hour future. APS now owns and operates approximately 4.9 megawatts of photovoltaic solar generation around the state. Besides solar, we are active partners in the development and testing of energy such as solar trough, biomass, hydrogen and wind.
Here is a summary of several key projects started in 2003:
- Located at the company’s Saguaro Power Plant in Red Rock, about 30 miles north of Tucson, the APS Solar Trough Generating Station will have a one-megawatt generating capacity, enough to provide for the energy needs of approximately 200 average-size homes. The plant is expected to come on line in April 2005. Solar-trough technology uses parabolic mirrors to concentrate the sun’s rays to heat mineral oil between 250 and 550 degrees. The fluid is then passed through a heat exchanger to vaporize a secondary working fluid. The vapor is used to spin a turbine, making electricity, then is condensed back into a liquid before being vaporized once again.
- In 2003, we entered into an agreement with Western Wind Energy (WND) Corp., to construct a 15-megawatt wind turbine facility in eastern Arizona. The facility, the first of its kind in Arizona, will produce enough energy to power up to 3,000 average-sized homes.
- APS is a proud participant in the development of a newly-opened biomass plant in northeastern Arizona. This three-megawatt biomass plant addresses two major needs in that it helps ease the fire danger from forest waste in northeastern Arizona and provides renewable energy.
- In an effort to further encourage its customers to use solar energy, APS doubled its current credit purchase in 2003 to customers buying and installing solar systems under the Environmental Portfolio Standard. Under the program, APS pays customers who install solar systems for the EPS credits generated by these systems and helps offset the cost of installing solar on their home or business. APS will pay $4 per watt – up from $2 per watt – for solar systems that are tied to APS’ electric grid, for up to 50 percent of the system’s cost. In addition, APS will make a one-time $700 purchase credit to customers who install solar water heating systems, up from $350. The goal of this program is to increase demand for alternative energy sources, thus leading to systems that become more affordable for everyday consumers.
In addition to the solar, wind and biomass plants, APS is the only utility in Arizona, and one of only a handful in the United States, to build and operate a facility that produces and stores hydrogen and compressed natural gas. Built with an $800,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, our downtown Phoenix facility houses a hydrogen-powered generator capable of powering 50 homes. With this plant, APS developed a hydrogen/compressed natural gas fueling station, where about a dozen APS vehicles use the fueling station to fill up.
As our record demonstrates, the company is committed to the exploration of alternative means of producing energy and fuel our future.
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