Amonix, a producer of concentrating photovoltaics (CPVs) is getting to work building arrays using its 7700 systems, which are larger than an IMAX screen. Most recently it completed a 2-megawatt array at the University of Arizona at Tucson.

“The installation recently unveiled in Tucson, Ariz., is one of our latest projects,” said Carla Pihowich, Amonix’ vice president of marketing and regulatory. “Friday, we also announced a 318-Kilowatt solar power plant at a Granite asphalt concrete facility in Indio, Calif.”

The company partnered with the school’s Science & Technology Park, the local utility, Tucson Electric Power (TEP), and Granite Construction to build the array, according to Pihowich. TEP will purchase the power produced by the array for 20 years, she said. The utility made the purchase as part of its bid to secure 160 megawatts of solar energy from private companies.

The facility consists of 36 systems on a 12-acre plot of land at the school’s Solar Zone. It will produce enough energy to power more than 500 Tucson-area homes, according to Amonix. It will offset more than 5,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

“What makes the Solar Zone compelling is the focus on making it a home for high-performance commercialized solar equipment that offers significant advantages to developers of solar power plants,” Amonix CEO Brian Robertson said in a press release.

After initial construction to build the tracking pedestals on which the systems are perched, construction is quick, Pihowich said.

“Amonix systems install rapidly, similar to the ease of installation of a wind farm. In fact, once pedestals are installed into the ground, the rest of the installation occurs at a rate of about half a megawatt per day,” she said.

The company is working on other projects as well, including supplying its systems to the 30-megawatt Alamosa Solar Generating Project in Colorado, which is being developed by Cogentrix.

“Amonix is working on several projects in our target areas, including Tucson,” Pihowich said. The Arizona Daily Star reported that Amonix will also build a 12-megawatt array under contract with TEP at a rock quarry site.