Located about 23 miles south of Tucson, Arizona, construction on the 35 MW Avalon Solar park has already begun. Swinerton Renewable Energy is building the site and has chosen Array Technologies, Inc.’s (ATI) DuraTrack™ HZ single-axis solar tracker for the project.

The 35-MWdc solar power generating station is a unique collaboration between Asarco, TEP and Clenera, with Asarco hosting the approximately 500-acre site, Clenera developing and managing the project and the power being sold to TEP under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement. The facility will generate enough power for 7,000 homes, will create up to 300 construction jobs, 80% of which will be locally sourced, and is expected to be operational by December 2014. Clenera will also install a small PV solar plant at the Mineral Discovery Center to provide renewable energy to power the center and install an exhibit explaining the benefits of solar photovoltaic energy generation.

ATI and Swinerton will concentrate on installing the “fully-loaded” DuraTrack HZ at this desert location when the tracker shipments are ready. Avalon Solar will feature the full gamut of recent product enhancements including a fully bolted solution, module clamps with integrated grounding, and an increased 120° tracking range of motion. These innovative features help speed-up install times and boost solar energy production. When completed, Avalon Solar will be the first project in the state of Arizona that ATI and Swinerton have worked on together.

(Photo: ATI's DuraTrack HZ single-axis solar tracker design. Photo Credit: ATI)