Abengoa Solar plans world's largest solar power plant

Abengoa Solar will build what it calls the largest solar power plant in the world, the company reported Thursday.

Denver - Abengoa Solar is a subsidiary of Abengoa S.A., a $4 billion multinational company based in Spain. Chesterfield, Mo.-based Abengoa Bioenergy is also a subsidiary of Abengoa S.A.

The plant would be located 70 miles southwest of Phoenix, near Gila Bend, Ariz. It's scheduled to go into operation by 2011. Abengoa Solar said the plant will sell the electricity it produces to Arizona Public Service Co. and bring in a total of $4 billion in revenue in 30 years.

The plant has been named Solana, and will have a capacity of 280 megawatts, "enough to power 70,000 homes while avoiding over 400,000 tons of greenhouse gases" the company said.

Construction of the Solana Generating Station will create about 1,500 construction jobs, and it would employ 85 full-time workers once it's operational, Abengoa Solar said.

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