Eighty-five percent of the year, the sun shines in Tucson, making the Solar Zone at UA Tech Park the perfect place for testing, evaluation, and demonstration of solar technologies and systems. The site is designed to generate 25 megawatts of power each day – nearly twice the daily electrical consumption of the Tech Park and enough to power the homes of more than 4,600 TEP residential consumers for a year.
Here, researchers and companies work together to evaluate how these technologies perform side-by-side under identical operating conditions. We have great sunshine and lots of it! Shining here with optimal solar radiance, solar technologies can be tested efficiently and thoroughly year-round.
Tucson Electric Power uses all power generated in the Solar Zone to expand its renewable energy resources in Southern Arizona
Our spacious site allows you to test various technologies side-by-side under identical conditions.
Our understanding of the solar industry facilitates companies’ success.
Our location in Southern Arizona provides an exceptionally high level of solar irradiance.
The University of Arizona is training the next generation of solar professionals.
The University of Arizona is internationally recognized as an expert in the solar and renewable energy industries.
Produces 2MW, powering 250 homes
36 solar structures on 16.1 acres
Tech: Dual Axis Tracking Concentrated Photovoltaic Structures (CPV)
6 MW powering 822 homes
44,000 thin film panels on 37.41 acres
Fixed Position Photovoltaic Panels (Thin Film)
RWE Climate & Renewables
10 MW / 2.5 MWh lithium titanate oxide storage facility
2.4 MW solar array for Tucson Electric Power (TEP
RWE Climate & Renewables
6MW powering 1,181 homes
24,000 solar panels on 37.3 acres
Single Axis Tracking Photovoltaic Panels (c-Si and JA)
5 MW powering 609 homes
21,294 Solon Solar Panels on 33.31 acres
Fixed Position Photovoltaic Panels (c-Si)
1.6 MW powering 258 homes
5,808 Solar Panels on 13.9 acres
Single Axis, Tracking Photovoltaic Panels (c-Si)
500 kW of Lithium-Ion Battery Storage
1.1 MW powering 96 homes
9 acres (4 acres solar)
Single Axis Tracking Flat Photovoltaic Module Arrays
Researching Carbon Dioxide Recycling, creating a cost-effective building block for industrial fuels and consumer products traditionally made from fossil carbon.
Creating cutting-edge ground and space-based sensor pay loads and mission support solutions