Abengoa announced that Solana, the world´s largest parabolic trough plant and also the first solar plant in the United States with thermal energy storage, has successfully passed commercial operation tests. A thermal energy storage system allows Solana to generate electricity for six hours without the concurrent use of the solar field. This technology consists of parabolic shaped mirrors mounted on structures that track the sun and concentrate the sun's heat, later transforming water into steam and powering a conventional steam turbine. Arizona Public Service (APS) will purchase all of the electricity produced by the solar plant for 30 years through a PPA. The total investment of the plant is approximately $2 billion dollars and during financing, Solana received a federal loan guarantee for $1.45 billion from the United States Department of Energy Federal Loan Guarantee Program. Solana is located near Gila Bend and about 70 miles southwest of Phoenix, Arizona and began construction in 2010.
