By Kari Williamson

TEP’s Sundt Solar Boost Project will use AREVA Solar’s Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) solar steam generators to produce up to 5 MW of CSP during peak demand periods.

Construction of the Sundt Solar Boost is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2012, and the CSP project is expected to be operational by early 2013.

The Sundt Solar Boost Project is part of TEP’s plan to expand its solar generating capacity to more than 200 MW by the end of 2014. Its output will help TEP meet or exceed Arizona’s Renewable Energy Standard, which requires electric utilities to increase their use of renewable energy each year until it accounts for 15% of their power in 2025.

The CSP project will also allow TEP to evaluate the potential integration of CSP additions at other power plants.

“AREVA Solar’s innovative solar boost technology gives us a cost-effective, environmentally responsible way to expand the output of our largest local power plant without increasing emissions,” says Paul Bonavia, Chairman and CEO of TEP and its parent company, UniSource Energy Corporation.

Bill Gallo, CEO of AREVA Solar, adds: “Solar booster projects like this are gaining momentum in the United States and around the world as a way to leverage existing power infrastructure to provide needed energy with no new emissions. AREVA Solar’s booster installation aims to do just that.”