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TUCSON, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Tucson Electric Power (TEP) ranked sixth in the nation last year for per-capita additions to its solar energy portfolio, according to a report released this month by the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA). The industry group’s ranking reflects the expansion of TEP’s solar power systems as well as the photovoltaic (PV) arrays added last year to local homes and businesses. TEP now has nearly 25 megawatts (MW) of solar generating capacity, enough to power more than 6,000 Tucson homes.
“TEP is an established leader in solar energy, and our ranking among SEPA’s Top 10 Solar Electric Utilities report shows we’re not resting on our laurels,” said Paul Bonavia, Chairman, President and CEO of TEP and its parent company, UniSource Energy Corporation (NYSE: UNS). “In fact, we’re ramping up our solar energy development at a rate that should launch us to even greater heights in SEPA’s future rankings.”
TEP plans to add nearly 200 MW of solar generating capacity to its system by the end of 2014. Those additions will include 28 MW of company-owned solar arrays, up to 125 MW in combined capacity from privately developed projects and an estimated 44 MW from new systems installed at customers’ homes and businesses.
The output of those systems will help TEP satisfy Arizona’s Renewable Energy Standard, which requires electric utilities to increase their use of renewable power each year until it represents 15 percent of their power in 2025. Efforts to comply with the standard are funded through customer surcharges established annually by the Arizona Corporation Commission.
In 2010, TEP added 29.7 watts of solar generating capacity per customer. That figure ranked just behind the per-capita capacity added by Pacific Gas & Electric, the large Southern California utility that ranks as the top U.S. solar power producer. Silicon Valley Power, a municipal utility serving just under 52,000 customers, topped SEPA’s per-capita rankings for 2010 with 39.9 watts per customer.
“We congratulate Tucson Electric Power for proving itself one of the solar power leaders in the electric utility industry,” said SEPA President Julia Hamm. “TEP has developed creative business models and approaches that are appropriate for its environment and that bring the benefits of solar power to its operations, its customers and our society.”
“The trends are clear – utilities are offering their customers more solar power in almost every region of the country,” Hamm said. “With the leadership of organizations like TEP, we expect those trends to continue.”
A full copy of SEPA’s 2010 Top 10 Solar Electric Utilities report and other information about the survey is posted online at sepatop10.org.
Tucson Electric Power provides safe, reliable service to more than 402,000 customers in the Tucson metropolitan area. To learn more, visit tep.com. For more information about parent company UniSource Energy, visit uns.com.
Contacts
Tucson Electric Power
News Media Contact:
Joe Salkowski, (520) 884-3625
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or
Financial Analyst Contact:
Chris Norman, (520) 884-3649
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Source: Tucson Electric Power
View this news release online at:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110616006327/en
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