Breaking News - Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation

AWC Lights Way in Solar Tech

Mar. 2nd, 2010

Arizona Western College took a big step toward a history-making solar energy project that could result in significant savings, said a campus official. Bill Smith, AWC director of facilities planning and management, said the college will install the largest array of solar panels of any college in the U.S. He, along with other administrators, addressed an audience of about 150 campus and community members, including Yuma Mayor Al Krieger, at the campus Tuesday. A multifaceted plan done in collaboration with Arizona Public Service and Power Purchase Agreement Inc. (PPA), the lead contractor who arranges all installation and maintenance of the solar array, is estimated to provide $15.4 million in energy savings over 20 years. The project, targeted to go online Dec. 1, is expected to employ 200 people, of which 80 percent will be local workers. He also said he thought the 105-kilowatt solar panels installed on the new Agriculture/Science Building in January 2009 was the pinnacle of his career in solar application but the new project is so much larger "it is hard to get my mind around it." "But the energy savings will not be most significant about this project. The greatest thing is AWC can be the world's leader in solar technology curriculum. We'll provide information and send our students out in the world, making us the poster child for solar technology." The potential for economic development is so huge the project has already drawn interest from Japanese and other investors from abroad, and the Yuma community needs to be prepared to maximize its prospects. Since Yuma has 354 days of solar generation per year, it does not get any better elsewhere, so "let's do solar," he stressed. "President Obama mentioned solar energy three times in his State of the Union address, and now we can move from being an importer of oil to a renewable energy economy. "But we need to train a work force of tomorrow with multiple technologies. The program at AWC is an example of pathways to lasting national prosperity and leadership in renewable energy." Bruce Mercy, of PPA, noted the 5-megawatt array will also be a testing site for worldwide manufacturers as well as a foundation for local education and workforce development in renewable energy technology and engineering. The project is comprised of five commercially viable photovoltaic system types. They include high and low concentration solar sun reflectors, mono- and polycrystalline photovoltaic panels and thin film photovoltaic panels. Rex Stepp, APS renewables technical account representative, said they have seen an explosive growth of solar installation. He added solar energy is an important part of the company's future balance of an energy mix. Marc Nigliazzo, AWC president, said the college will become a model for the country in solar technology. He anticipated there will be many spin-off projects generating from this effort. Joann Linville, vice president for learning services, said the project is not just about panel installation but the beginning of AWC moving into solar education in a formal way. She noted AWC has already included in its curriculum an associate of applied science degree in solar technology and certificates of solar technology, green construction methods and weatherization. Meanwhile, in development are an associate of science in renewable energy and a certificate in energy auditing. "Although the solar industry is not yet widespread, we believe Yuma is poised on the threshold of a major industry and AWC will be at the leading edge of solar technology education."

The Sun
Mar. 2nd, 2010

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