By Patrick O’Grady | Phoenix Business Journal
Arizona Public Service Co. is planning a new 34-megawatt solar power plant that it will have Black & Veatch build and design.
The new Gila Bend Solar Power plant will join others in the small town southwest of Phoenix. Overland Park, Kan.-based Black & Veatch will start work on the plant in October with it scheduled to come online in June 2014.
The project is part of APS’ AZ Sun program, which will construct about 200 megawatts of utility-owned solar systems through 2015.
Barbara Lockwood, APS’ general manager of energy innovation, said Black & Veatch was selected through a competitive bidding process that has been used for all its power plants.
The plant will be located on 400 acres of land and use a single-axis tracker that will supply enough power for about 8,000 homes.
The plant will create about 150 jobs during the nine-month construction.
