US OKs $90.6m for world's largest HCPV solar plant
A project to build a high-concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) solar power plant in Colorado has won a $90.6-million loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy (DOE).
Cogentrix of Alamosa plans to use the money to support construction of the Alamosa Solar Generating Project, a 30-megawatt (MW) facility that will be one of the first utility-scale HCPV power plants in the US. Once completed, it will also be the largest of its kind in the world.
The proposed facility will use a system of concentrating optics and multi-junction solar-cell panels that are controlled by a dual-axis tracking system. The tracking system will rotate and tilt the cells throughout the day so the surface of the solar panel keeps facing the sun at an optimal angle.
According to Cogentrix, the multi-junction solar cells have an efficiency of nearly 40 percent, which is about twice that of traditional PV panels.
The Alamosa Solar Generating Project will generate enough clean energy to power more than 6,500 homes. It’s supported by a power purchase agreement (PPA) in which the Public Service Company of Colorado agrees to buy power generated by the plant for the next 20 years. The project is also expected to source more than 80 percent of its components from the US.
