Renewable energy
Renewable resources are clean or "green" energy sources that have a much lower environmental
impact than conventional energy sources. Renewable resources are attractive because they are
replenished naturally -- which means they will never run out.
SRP has established a goal that by FY20, SRP will meet a target of 20% of its expected retail energy requirements with sustainable resources. Among them are a diversified resource mix of wind, geothermal, large hydro and low-impact hydro, landfill gas and solar.
Renewable resources at SRP
At SRP, we pursue innovative and effective renewable energy solutions by:
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Regularly expanding our energy portfolio to include a diverse mix of renewable energy technologies;
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Tapping the expertise of partners, advisors and environmental leaders to refine our renewable
energy pursuits; and
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Investing in educational programs and events that introduce students to renewable energy solutions.
Sustainable portfolio during FY11
SRP's total current renewable capacity is 595 megawatts (MW) and includes the following resources:
- Solar: 22 MW
- Wind: 128 MW
- Landfill gas: 22 MW
- Low-impact hydro: 5 MW
- Biomass: 10 MW
- Hydro: 383 MW
- Unspecified: 25 MW (additional fuel purchased of varying combinations from above-listed sources)
Solar electric plants use the sun, a free and inexhaustible source of fuel, to produce emission-free
electricity.
SRP receives 20 MW of solar energy from the Copper Crossing Solar Ranch in Florence, AZ. This facility produces approximately 54 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of solar energy annually for SRP Community Solar. That is enough energy to meet the needs of about 3,700 SRP customers' homes each year.
In addition, SRP has a 200 kW solar electric system at the Agua Fria Generating Station in Glendale, as well as
two 100 kW solar electric systems at the Rogers Substation in Gilbert. Together, these three
plants send close to one million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power to the grid each year, or enough energy to power
72 homes.
SRP has three primary avenues for generating solar power:
partnering with communities and businesses, SRP-owned facilities, and SRP subsidized customer-owned systems
through the EarthWise Solar Energy program. Some of these projects include solar facilities at
community parking garages and schools,
and partnering with homebuilders to install innovative solar technology projects.
To find out more, please see our generating solar page and our
solar energy page.
A landfill is not the place you would expect to find a source of clean energy. But landfill gas is a
reliable, renewable energy source that improves the environment.
Landfill gas is about 50% methane, a potent greenhouse gas that, if uncollected, might contribute
to global warming. The gas occurs naturally as waste decomposes in a landfill.
SRP's landfill gas project includes:
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The Tri-Cities landfill gas facility: Completed in 2001, this four-megawatt
generation facility captures gas created by the Tri-Cities landfill. The gas is used to fuel five
internal combustion engines at the landfill's power generating facility. The Tri-Cities landfill
gas facility produces enough clean energy to power more than 2,000 homes each year.
Hydroelectric generation is an important part of the history of Salt River Project, and a technology that
remains core to our power production portfolio.
The water captured by SRP's dams on the Salt and Verde river systems store tremendous potential energy released
through hydroelectric generation stations built into five of SRP's seven dams: Theodore Roosevelt, Horse Mesa,
Mormon Flat and Stewart Mountain dams on the Salt River system; and C. C. Cragin Dam on the Verde system.
These generating facilities produce a combined 269MW of power to serve customers in the Valley.
SRP's system of canals also plays a part in utilizing the energy stored in water.
The term "low-impact" refers to hydrogeneration that produces clean power using a canal's
natural drop in elevation. Because a dam is not needed to create a drop in elevation,
no negative environmental impact is made on the site.
SRP installed a low-impact hydroelectric plant on the Arizona Canal at an historic site known as
Arizona Falls (located near 56th St. and Indian School).
SRP diversified its renewable energy portfolio in October 2009 by purchasing 100% of the output from the Dry Lake Wind Power Project, located near Heber, Ariz.
SRP receives 100% of 127 MW generated from the wind farm, or enough to
power more than 20,000 homes in the metropolitan Phoenix area.
Geothermal power is the better energy source in SRP's renewable energy lineup.
Instead of burning a fuel to heat water into steam as seen in conventional forms of generation,
heat from the Earth is used to create the steam that powers the turbines. Geothermal energy is
considered renewable energy because no fuel is consumed and the energy is from a naturally
occurring source.
The renewable-energy credits are generated by geothermal power plants, located in California's
Imperial Valley, that produce electricity from naturally occurring geothermal steam. The steam
is formed when production wells tap into superheated water reservoirs thousands of feet beneath
the Earth's surface.
SRP has signed a 30-year agreement to purchase the entire output of the Hudson Ranch 1 project, a new 49-megawatt (MW) geothermal power generation project located in the Imperial Valley of Southern California. Construction of the plant is underway. The builder of the facility, EnergySource LLC, expects it to become commercially operational in early 2012.
SRP operates Arizona's first hydrogen fuel cell plant. It produces low-emission electricity from hydrogen extracted from natural gas.
SRP's contract to pursue the output of the Snowflake White Mountain Biomass Power Plant expired in August of 2010. In the future, SRP plans to contract biomass generation providers for future output.
