Energy Department Finalizes $337 Million Loan Guarantee to Mesquite Solar 1 for Innovative Solar Power Plant

Sept. 28, 2011
Energy.gov

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced that the Energy Department finalized a $337 million loan guarantee to Mesquite Solar 1, LLC to support the development of an innovative photovoltaic solar generating project. The optimized 150 megawatt (MW) alternating current photovoltaic (PV) solar generation project will be located in Maricopa County, Arizona, approximately 45 miles west of Phoenix. Sempra Energy, the project sponsor, estimates the project will fund up to 300 construction jobs.

"Domestic solar power generation strengthens and diversifies our nation's clean energy portfolio and helps us compete in the global clean energy race," said Secretary Chu. "Continued support for these innovative technologies will help bring down the cost of clean, renewable energy, like solar power, while creating jobs here at home."

 Click here to read more 

Rep. Trent Franks, R-Glendale, told a House Indian and Alaska Native Affairs subcommittee that his bill is the only way to protect a compact among Arizona's tribes to limit casino development in metro Phoenix. He said his bill would prevent extensive "reservation shopping" by tribes creating reservation land within cities.

"If the compact totally dissolves, chaos will result," Franks testified. "There will be reservation shopping all over the state."

Behringer Harvard Plans Ground-Breaking for Infrastructure Development at Rio Salado Commerce Park in Phoenix

Oct. 4, 2011

PR Newswire 

Behringer Harvard announced today its plans to break ground within 30 days for the first phase of infrastructure development at Rio Salado Commerce Park, a 65-acre land tract that is the last large parcel remaining in the Sky Harbor area of Phoenix, Arizona.

Financing recently provided by Dallas-based Rafkin Lending will allow Behringer Harvard to begin improvements including grading; the construction of interior roads, utility connections and a storm water drainage system; and lighting, landscaping and signage. Rio Salado Commerce Park can accommodate the development of up to one million square feet of industrial space and users requiring from two to 50 acres. Ryan Construction Company has been engaged to complete site improvements, and available lots will be marketed by Allen Lowe and Jeff Conrad of Lee & Associates. Lots are expected to be available for sale by January 2012.   

 Click here to read more 

Stratton Resources Commences Drilling at Its Bear Canyon Copper Project in Arizona

Oct. 6, 2011

Steel Guru

Stratton Resources Inc announced that it has started drilling at the Bear Canyon copper project located on the prolific Arizona Porphyry Copper Belt. The first phase drill program will consist of 12 diamond drill holes, approximately 200 meters deep. This initial drill program is designed to evaluate Induced Polarization geophysical anomalies defined under and along strike from surface oxide copper occurrences.

 Click here to read more 

Two massive solar-energy projects in Arizona that will supply California won final approval for federal loan guarantees by a Sept. 30 deadline, despite controversy over the bankruptcy of loan recipient Solyndra LLC.

Here's a look at the projects that made it:

* Agua Caliente, a 290MW project in Yuma County, received a $967 million loan guarantee in August.

Lawmakers push to lift northern Arizona uranium-mining ban

The bill is a response to a temporary ban on new mines in the so-called Arizona Strip - federal lands next to Grand Canyon National Park - a ban that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has said he would like to extend for 20 years. The department is currently studying the possibility.

The U.S. Forest Service says the Rosemont Mine could result in violations of ground-water and air-quality rules, but it continues to say the project should be approved.

In its new draft environmental impact statement, released late Wednesday, the agency says air-quality standards could be compromised, and that the mine's discharges might violate state ground-water quality standards.

The agency recommends that Rosemont Copper place its tailings and waste rock away from a canyon in order to reduce its impact on riparian areas.

Rosemont Copper mine's current proposal does not comply with federal and state regulations on air and water quality, the Forest Service said Friday, but the mine will have at least until March to correct its plan.

Approval could be a year away, though Rosemont has been saying the decision is imminent, and no plan will mitigate all environmental impacts, Coronado National Forest Supervisor Jim Upchurch said at a press conference Friday.

Upchurch announced the release of the agency's 1,100-page Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and said it gives the public scientific data with which to make comments over a 90-day comment period that begins Saturday in Sahuarita. Upchurch said he will not make a decision during the first quarter of 2012, a timeline that the agency until recently proposed and one that Rosemont has promoted.

Cogenra Solar, which provides distributed solar cogeneration systems and renewable energy service solutions, has announced a new project to build a solar cogeneration array at the University of Arizona (UA), a four-year public research college located in Tucson, Arizona. Once the project is completed, UA will be the first university in the United States to benefit from Cogenra's solar cogeneration solution, which provides both heat and electric energy.

The system will be comprises of 50 Cogenra SunDeck modules located on the roof of Villa De Puente dormitory. Buildings and facilities that consume large amounts of hot water, such as college dormitories for example, are perfectly suited for solar cogeneration solutions. Cogenra reports that he roof-mounted array "will supply hot water and electricity to fuel daily needs such as laundering, showering, cleaning, and lighting for student residents."

 Click here to read more 

 Click here to read more