The Alamosa Solar Generating Plant is a 35.3 MW_p (30.0 MW_AC)

concentrator photovoltaics Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) (also known as concentration photovoltaics) is a photovoltaic technology that generates electricity from sunlight. Unlike conventional photovoltaic systems, it uses lenses or curved mirrors to focus sunlight onto ...

(CPV) power station, the largest in the world when it was completed, in May 2012. It is currently the world's third largest operating CPV facility. The output is being sold to Public Service of Colorado, a subsidiary of

Xcel Energy Xcel Energy Inc. is an American utility holding company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving more than 3.7 million electric customers and 2.1 million natural gas customers in Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico in 2019. It consists of four ope ...

, under a long term

Power Purchase Agreement A power purchase agreement (PPA), or electricity power agreement, is a contract between two parties, one which generates electricity (the seller) and one which is looking to purchase electricity (the buyer). The PPA defines all of the commercial te ...

Facility construction details

The facility consists of 504 dual-axis

Amonix Amonix, Inc. is a solar power system developer based in Seal Beach, California. The company manufactures concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) products designed for installation in sunny and dry climates. CPV products convert sunlight into electrical en ...

7700 solar tracking systems and Solectria grid-connected 70 kW

inverter A power inverter, inverter or invertor is a power electronic device or circuitry that changes direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). The resulting AC frequency obtained depends on the particular device employed. Inverters do the oppo ...

s. Each system supports seven CPV "MegaModules" which are each rated to produce about 10 kW_p. Each module contains 1,080

fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the ...

es to concentrate sunlight 500 times onto

multi-junction solar cell Multi-junction (MJ) solar cells are solar cells with multiple p–n junctions made of different semiconductor materials. Each material's p-n junction will produce electric current in response to different wavelengths of light. The use of multiple ...

s, allowing a greater efficiency than conventional photovoltaic power plants. The facility is sited on 225 acres at an elevation of 7,500 feet in the sunny and cool

San Luis Valley The San Luis Valley is a region in south-central Colorado with a small portion overlapping into New Mexico. The valley is approximately long and wide, extending from the Continental Divide on the northwest rim into New Mexico on the south. It co ...

, along with several other solar farms. It was built by Mortenson construction and is the world's largest assembly of Amonix CPV technology.

Ownership, funding, and operations

Construction was financed in September 2011 by a special purpose subsidiary of the Goldman Sachs Group's Cogentrix Energy Power Management with a US$90.6 million loan that is guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Energy. The facility became operational less than 9 months later in April 2012. In August 2016, Cogentrix sold the project for US$35 million to

Korea Electric Power Corporation Korea Electric Power Corporation, better known as KEPCO (Hangul: 켑코) or Hanjeon (Hangul: 한전), is the largest electric utility in South Korea, responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and the developme ...

and its COPA pension fund, both of which are majority held by the South Korean government. Cogentrix Services continues to operate and maintain the facility.

Electricity production

Comparison to flat-panel photovoltaic plants

Findings of a 2013

NREL The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research and ...

land use report showed CPV as having the highest land-energy-density potential of any photovoltaic technology surveyed in the United States, requiring an average 2.8 acres/GW·h/yr for power plants larger than 20 MW. Flat-panel fixed and single-axis tracking plants of similar capacity typically used 3.7 and 3.3 acres/GW·h/yr, respectively. Based on current energy production statistics, land use for the 225 acre Alamosa CPV project averages 3.7 acres/GW·h/yr (= 270 MW·h/acre annual production).

External links

VIDEO: Amonix CPV Solar Installation Timelapse

VIDEO: Amonix 7700 System Description

Performance analysis and modeling of the world's largest CPV power plant

Field performance analysis of different Fresnel lenses in Amonix CPV systems

Amonix - Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) Solar Power Solutions in the Southwest

Arzon Solar website

References

{{Solar power in the United States Energy infrastructure completed in 2012 Buildings and structures in Alamosa County, Colorado Photovoltaic power stations in Colorado Photovoltaic power stations in the United States