Tucson Electric Power will add to its renewable-energy portfolio the AREVA solar power system, which over the course of a year will produce enough power to serve nearly 1,000 homes.
The Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector, or CLFR, solar steam generator will boost the output of TEP’s H. Wilson Sundt Generating Station – TEP’s largest local power plant – by up to 5 megawatts during peak demand periods without added emissions.
CLFR technology uses rows of flat mirrors to reflect sunlight onto an elevated solar receiver, which consists of a system of tubes through which water flows. The concentrated sunlight boils the water in the tubes, generating high-pressure, superheated steam.
The system, scheduled to come online this month, has more than 500 steel mirrors, each of which is 74 feet long and weighs 2,400 pounds. The reflectors were manufactured in Tucson thanks to a partnership between AREVA and CAID Industries.
The generator’s 200,000 pound, 1,400-foot-long solar receiver was installed Sept. 3 atop a row of towers just a few inches at a time. View a time-lapse video of the installation via TEP’s YouTube page.
The AREVA system will add to the robust renewable energy portfolio that has earned TEP a place among the nation’s leading solar utilities.
By the end of 2014, TEP expects to have more than 340 megawatts of total renewable generating capacity – enough to meet the electric needs of more than 71,000 homes.
