1-MW CSP Plant Planned for New Mexico

Concentrix Solar, a German supplier of concentrator photovoltaic systems, announced on Feb. 24 that it has signed a contract with Chevron Technology Ventures for the deployment of a 1-MW concentrating solar power (CSP) plant to be installed at a Chevron Mining facility in Questa, New Mexico.

The plant will use Concentrix Solar’s FLATCON technology and will be the largest CSP installation in the U.S. and one of the largest CSP plants in the world. The power produced will be sold through a power purchase agreement to the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative.

In the U.S., Concentrix Solar has already installed a demo system on the University of California San Diego campus. This demonstration tracker, installed in July 2009, confirmed system efficiencies (AC) of 25% under full field operating conditions.

A FLATCON CSP tracking system has a nominal power output of 6 kW. One megawatt consists of approximately 175 systems, which can be placed in an area of 7 acres.

Source: Concentrix Solar