AWC set to 'Flip the Switch' on solar project

The long-anticipated Flip the Switch ceremony will be held at Arizona Western College on Tuesday, marking the completion of construction on the 5-megawatt solar array and the beginning of its use.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer will be the featured speaker at the public event, joined by representatives from Arizona Public Service, AWC, Main Street Power, PPA Partners, Rosendin Electric and other solar partners.

“No other school has integrated such diverse solar technologies in one system, which benefited from generous utility incentives and overall project financing through a PPA agreement with Main Street Power,” AWC said in a news release. “The five-megawatt system includes one megawatt each of five different technologies, from CPV (concentrated photovoltaics) to thin film panels.”

The outdoor ceremony is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. followed by a Solar Panel discussion held in the Schoening Conference Center within the College Community Center (3C). Community members will be given the opportunity to submit questions to solar@azwestern.edu before and during the panel that will take place from 3 to 4 p.m.

According to AWC, the panel will field questions from the media and local community about the project technologies, the six-month installation, data monitoring and the campus' research and development plans.

For those that cannot attend the panel discussion, visit www.azwestern.edu/solar to see the 60-minute panel discussion streaming live at 3 p.m. MST.