Solar Installation Deal at Tucson International Airport

TUCSON, Ariz. — The Tucson Airport Authority Board of Directors approved a 20-year land lease deal with Tucson Electric Power Co. for 50 acres of land south of the Tucson International Airport to build a 5-megawatt photovoltaic array.

 

TEP will pay a fixed rental rate of $46,716.50 per year to the TAA. The lease includes two five-year options.

 

The TEP installation will be a single axis tracking photovoltaic system, to be completed by the end of 2011 and will be built by Solon.

 

TEP is expanding its use of solar power to comply with state rules requiring utilities to increase their use of renewable energy by 15 percent by 2025. It is focusing on expansion both at the airport and at sites around the city, TEP said.

 

The expansion is being funded through a monthly power bill surcharge. The surcharge to residential customers will be approximately $3.59 per month next year, a 39 cent increase over 2010.

 

The installation will generate enough energy to power 800 households a year.

 

TEP and TAA installed solar panels at the airport’s parking lot revenue control building in 2007.