By Joyce Lobeck
Yuma Sun
More solar power generating activity is coming to Yuma County with the announcement that the permitting process has begun for a new solar photovoltaic facility — the Hyder II Solar Power Plant.
Construction on Hyder II, a 14-megawatt facility, is scheduled to begin in April with commercial operations expected to be online by December 2013, announced Arizona Public Service Co.
Hyder II will sit adjacent to the existing 16-MW Hyder plant, which is located on the eastern edge of Yuma County about 15 miles north of Interstate 8 off Agua Caliente Road. Hyder I went online in October 2011.
Located on 240 acres, the new project will include more than 71,000 single-axis tracker PV panels that will generate enough solar energy to power more than 3,500 Arizona homes. The single-axis tracker design enables the solar panels to follow the sun across the sky.
McCarthy Building Cos. has been selected to construct the facility, the third solar project the contractor has worked on for APS. The project will bring 150 local construction jobs.
Hyder II is the sixth AZ Sun Project for APS, said Barbara Lockwood, APS general manager of energy innovation.
