Abengoa has announced the successful completion of commercial operation tests on Solana, the company's 280 MW concentrating solar plant near Gila Bend, Arizona. The plant uses parabolic shaped mirrors mounted on sun-tracking structures to concentrate the sun's heat on a central tower. The heat is used to transform water into steam which powers a steam turbine to produce electricity. The plant has been designed to capture and store thermal energy so electricity can be produced for up to six hours without any sunshine. Arizona Public Service (APS) has entered into a 30 years power purchase agreement to acquire all of the electricity produced by the plant. The six hours of dispatchable energy production is expected to help APS satisfy its peak demand hours during summer evenings.

Press Release - Abengoa's Solana, the US's first large-scale solar plant with thermal energy storage system, begins commercial operation