FEDS BACK NEW SOLAR W/$90 MIL

Department of Energy Finalizes $90.6 Million Loan Guarantee to Cogentrix of Alamosa, LLC to Support Colorado Solar Project
September 9, 2011 (U.S. Department of Energy)

"…[T]he Department of Energy finalized a $90.6 million loan guarantee to Cogentrix of Alamosa, LLC (Cogentrix)…[to] support the Alamosa Solar Generating Project, a 30 megawatt (MW) High Concentration Photovoltaic (HCPV) power generation facility…in Colorado. The project, located in south-central Colorado near the city of Alamosa, represents one of the first utility-scale, high concentration photovoltaic energy generation facilities in the nation and, when completed, the largest of its kind in the world. Cogentrix estimates the project will support up to 100 construction jobs…"

(from Cogentrix - click to enlarge

"The proposed facility will use innovative HCPV systems consisting of concentrating optics and multi-junction solar cell panels that are controlled by a dual-axis tracking system…[that] rotates and tilts the cells throughout the day so the surface of the solar panel maintains an optimal angle with respect to the sun…The facility is expected to produce enough clean renewable energy per year to power more than 6,500 homes…The Alamosa Solar Generating Project is supported by…a long-term agreement to sell the power it will generate. Under the project’s PPA, the Public Service Company of Colorado will buy the power generated by the solar facility for the next 20 years. The project is also expected to source more than 80 percent of its components from the United States..."