The Mesquite Solar project is a 400-megawatt (MWAC) photovoltaic power plant in Arlington, Maricopa County, Arizona, owned by Sempra Generation. The project was constructed in 3 phases using more than 2.1 million crystalline silicon solar panels made by Suntech Power.
Project details
Construction of Phase 1 over a 3.6 km2 site adjacent the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station began in 2011 and was completed in January 2013. It has a nameplate capacity of 150 megawatts (MW) that is contracted through a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). The EPC contractor was Zachry Holdings. Phase 1 cost about $600 million, is projected to generate more than 350 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually (an average of about 40 MW), and will offset roughly 200,000 tons of carbon emissions each year.
Phase 2 (100MW) and Phase 3 (150MW) were both completed in December 2016. The panels are mounted on single-axis trackers to increase electricity production.