Agua Caliente Solar Project

39 MW was online as of December 2011 and 100 MW was completed as of April 2012.^[3][4] 200 MW was completed as of July 2012,^[5] and 247 MW in August 2012, when the 10th section was completed.^[6] The addition of more panels has halted until 2013, with crates of panels covered to protect them.^[7] Full power was achieved ahead of schedule in September 2013.^[8]

In August 2011, the Department of Energy finalized a $967 million loan guarantee for the project. The project sponsor, NRG Solar, estimated the photovoltaic generation facility would fund approximately 400 construction jobs and 16 full-time operating jobs, and would become one of the largest plants of its kind in the world when completed.^[9] The power produced is being sold to PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) in California in a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement.^[10][11]

The Series 3 thin film panels use CdS/CdTe,^[12] and are rated from 77 watts to 82.5 watts each,^[13] and are mounted at a fixed tilt angle. 20,940 are connected in each array, rated at 1.26 MW_AC. 400 SMA 720CP inverters were initially foreseen, but in the end 500 SMA 630CP are used.^[14][15] Installed modules total power is 410 megawatt-peak (MW_DC).^[16]

In February 2012, Agua Caliente competed in the Excellence in Renewable Energy Awards and won the Project of the Year Award.^[11]

Agua Caliente Solar Project's production is as follows, averaging 727 GW·h annual, yielding about 300 MW·h/acre.^[8]

The Loan Programs Office projected annual generation, calculated using the project's and NREL Technology specific capacity factors, was of 559 GW·h.^[17] Sector estimates predicted an average production of about 626 GW·h each year. ^[15]

• Arizona Solar Center
• Solar power in Arizona