Phase 2 will be completed in December 2013 and commissioned in January 2014. When fully operational, the ground-mounted system will supply power to about 91,000 UES customers in Mohave and Santa Cruz counties, producing 13,110,680 kilowatt hours of clean solar power annually.

Gehrlicher Engineered Solution (GES) is responsible for the design, engineering and construction of the solar project, which is located on 37.5 acres, while Southwest Energy Solutions, a Unisource company, will perform the electrical portion of the work on the system. The generation facility consists of 24,400 fixed-tilt solar modules and four inverters. 

UES is a subsidiary of Tucson-based UniSource Energy Corporation which is also the corporate parent of Tucson Electric Power (TEP). “The Rio Rico solar energy project is an important component in our company’s strategy to provide UES customers with clean, affordable renewable energy,” said Carmine Tilghman, director of wholesale & renewable energy for UNS Energy and TEP.