Kingman site selected for new $1 billion solar plant

Jayme Cook
Electric Times

Kingman, Ariz. has recently been selected by the Albiasa Corporation, a subsidiary of Albiasa Solar in Spain, as the future location of its 200-megawatt (MW), 1,400-acre concentrating solar power (CSP) facility. The location is tentatively plotted near Interstate 40 off Highway 93. The project is slated for groundbreaking in 2010 and projected to finish in 2013.

The Kingman solar facility will also use parabolic CSP technology similar to existing plants in the California Mojave Desert. Parent company Albiasa Solar, which has been in operation since 1974, has worked in Spain to enhance parabolic trough technology.
The Albiasa trough that will be used in the Kingman facility, is certified by CIEMAT (the Spanish version of NREL) to have the highest geometric accuracy of any existing parabolic trough, important to note as the system’s cost is also 30 percent lower than common systems.

In anticipation of the project, Albiasa Corporation opened an engineering and project development headquarter in Phoenix earlier this year. This is the company’s second office, after their U.S. headquarters in San Francisco, Calif.

Albiasa Corporation Phoenix Development Project Engineer Arturo Alvarez said the Kingman facility will be the second solar thermal project in Arizona, following a Gila Bend project currently underway. Both plants basically use the same technology. Where the generated power will be sold is still in negotiations however, the company says they’ve seen the appetite for renewable energy among Arizona utilities and this is one of the main reasons they are there.

The Department of Commerce expects the Albiasa Corporation Kingman plant to create 2,000 construction jobs and 100 permanent jobs.