Alamosa Solar Generating Project
| Alamosa Solar Generating Plant | |
|---|---|
  Location of Alamosa Solar Generating Plant in Colorado | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Alamosa, Colorado |
| Coordinates | 37°35′54″N 105°57′07″W / 37.59833°N 105.95194°WCoordinates: 37°35′54″N 105°57′07″W / 37.59833°N 105.95194°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | 2011 |
| Commission date | May 10, 2012 |
| Owner(s) | Cogentrix Solar |
| Solar field | |
| Type | CPV |
| Site area | 225 acres (91 ha) |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 504 Amonix 7700 |
| Nameplate capacity | 37 MW |
| Average generation | 87.554 GWh |
The Alamosa Solar Generating Plant is a 37 MWp (30.72 MWAC) concentrator photovoltaics power station, the largest in the world when it was completed, in May 2012.[1] It is located in the sunny San Luis Valley, along with several other solar farms. It was built by Mortenson construction using 492 dual axis Amonix 7700 panels each of which contains 7,560 fresnel lens[2] to concentrate sunlight 500 times, and multi-junction solar cells, allowing a greater efficiency than other photovoltaic power plants. It uses all three of the methods available to increase efficiency—dual-axis tracking, concentrating photovoltaics, and multi-junction cells. The systems are certified for operation for 50 years, but the multi-junction cells will need to be replaced in 25 years.[3] The output is being sold to Public Service of Colorado, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, under a long term Power Purchase Agreement.
Electricity production
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | – | – | – | 5,528 | 6,899 | 7,639 | 6,521 | 5,464 | 5,946 | 6,850 | 5,385 | 3,887 | 54,119 |
| 2013 | 4,934 | 4,933 | 5,051 | 4,535 | 6,004 | 6,422 | 5,675 | 6,043 | 5,851 | 6,593 | 4,787 | 4,764 | 65,592 |
| 2014 | 4,584 | 5,143 | 5,937 | 4,989 | 5,690 | 6,390 | 5,133 | 5,899 | 5,766 | 5,770 | 4,851 | 3,502 | 63,654 |
| 2015 | 3,358 | 4,544 | 6,159 | 5,504 | 4,858 | 6,054 | 4,187 | 5,561 | 5,488 | 4,404 | 5,019 | 3,719 | 58,855 |
| 2016 | 4,229 | 5,010 | 5,309 | 4,702 | 5,964 | 25,214 | |||||||
| All-Time Total | 267,434 | ||||||||||||
See also
- Alamosa photovoltaic power plant
- List of photovoltaic power stations
- Renewable energy in the United States
- Renewable portfolio standard
- San Luis Valley Solar Ranch
- Solar power in Colorado
- Solar power in the United States
References
- ↑ Biggest CPV Plant in US Begins Commercial Operation
- ↑ Alamosa Solar Generating Plant, world's largest CPV up and running
- ↑ Utility Scale Solar Products
- ↑ "Cogentrix of Alamosa, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
External links
- Design & Performance of the Amonix High Concentration Solar PV System
- Concentrated Photovoltaics Solutions
