More on the Gila Bend solar plant

The plant, which the president said would be the world’s largest solar operation, is going to be built by a Spanish company, Abengoa Solar, S.A.

From Dylan Smith in the Tucson Sentinel:

The Solana project will employ about 1,600 during construction. More than 75 percent of the contractors are expected to be Arizona companies. The project will require 80,000 tons of steel – enough to build a second Golden Gate Bridge.

“Over 70 percent of the components and products used in construction will be manufactured in the USA, boosting jobs and communities in states up and down the supply chain,” Obama said.

Construction time was estimated at 18 months in 2008.

Once Solana is in operation, it will require about 85 full time employees, the company says.

The full story has a lot of interesting details about how the site’s solar collectors will work.

The largest solar power facility in the world coming to Arizona

Barack Obama’s Saturday radio address details a host of alternative energy plans, including a big solar plant to be constructed just west of Gila Bend.

The Tucson Sentinel:

The “world’s largest solar plant” planned near Gila Bend will receive a $1.45 billion federal loan guarantee, President Obama announced Saturday morning.

“This plant will be the first large-scale solar plant in the U.S. to actually store the energy it generates for later use – even at night,” Obama said.

The plant will be based approoximately here:

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Tucson Sentinel story here.

AP story here.

Here’s the president’s address: