The US Department of Energy just finalized a $1.45 billion loan guarantee to Abengoa Solar Inc.’s Solana project in Arizona which, when completed, will be the world’s largest parabolic trough concentrating solar plant in the world. The plant will generate enough energy to power 70,000 homes and will create 1,600 to 1,700 new construction jobs. Once up and running, the Solana project will be responsible for removing 475,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the air per year.
The Solana project will be located near Gila Bend, Arizona, and will have a 250-megawatt capacity. It will also be the first solar plant in the United States capable of storing its own energy. Abengoa Solar is dedicated to not only bringing jobs to the people of Arizona but also to American industry at large. 70 percent of the components of the Solana project will be made on American soil, giving business to countless other people across the country indirectly. Electricity from the finished project will be provided through the Arizona Public Service Company.
The $1.45 billion loan to Abengoa Solar is part of a $16.5 billion loan guarantee program from the Department of Energy that will eventually dole out the money to 16 different clean energy projects across the United States. Together the 16 projects will generate 37 million megawatt-hours of clean electricity which will power 3.3 million homes bring green energy jobs to people across the United States.
+ Department of Energy
