APS will pay $10m to lease 400-acre of land in Yuma County for 35 years to build the Foothills solar plant.
AMEC has been selected by the utility to build the solar power plant, which will break ground in August this year.
Arizona Governor Janice Brewer said the solar project will bring quality solar jobs to the state and dollars to support our state’s public schools – all while utilizing state’s most abundant resource, the sun, to generate clean and renewable energy.
"It’s the first of many solar projects that will benefit the entire state and cement our status as the ‘Solar King’," Brewer said.
The power will be developed in two phases with the first 17MW will reach commercial operation by March 2013 and the remaining 18MW will begin operations in December 2013.
The Foothills faculty is expected to produce enough electricity to power 8,750 Arizona homes.
All the electricity produced from this facility will be used to serve local Yuma residents.
