Solar project near Salome gets a green light

A utility-scale solar project two miles west of Salome, AZ has been cleared through the latest stage of development.

The Department of Energy’s Western Area Power Administration has completed an environmental impact assessment and concluded that there is ‘no significant impact’ for the project’s interconnection to the power grid. The interconnection involves new power poles up to 100 feet tall, modifications of existing structures and other improvements to infrastructure.

Arizona Solar 1 LLC plans to build, operate, and maintain an approximately 32.5 megawatt photovoltaic solar energy generation facility with solar panels on about 480 acres of land. An optional 27.5 megawatt of photovoltaic solar energy generation and a 20 megawatt of battery storage may be added based on market considerations. Although the total nameplate capacity of the planned facility and the optional installation totals approximately 60 megawatts, Arizona Solar 1 LLC plans to operate the facility such that the annual output is equal to or less than 50 average megawatts.

The project is one of many that aims to turn vacant desert land into productive solar energy generating facilities.