LS Power Taps Fluor to Build 125 MW Arizona Solar Plant

Fluor Corporation, the nation's largest publicly traded engineering and construction company, said this week that it has been selected by a subsidiary of electricity generator LS Power Group to build a 125-megawatt solar plant in Arizona. Fluor was also awarded a separate contract for ongoing operations and maintenance.

The AVSE II project, LS Power's largest solar facility to date, will be constructed on about 1,016 acres in Maricopa County and is expected to be completed by 2013. Once operational, the facility will generate enough capacity to power between 75,000 and 100,000 homes in the region.

Texas-based Fluor, which is best known for pursuing projects in mining, oil and gas, has been more nimble than many of its peers, showing the ability to apply its talent in new spaces, particularly renewable energy, in North America and around the world.

In December, the global giant inked a deal with an affiliate of Clean Line Energy Partners LLC to provide development support, preliminary engineering, procurement and construction services (EPC) for the Plains & Eastern Clean Line project, a proposed 800-mile wind energy transmission line from Oklahoma to Tennessee in the permitting stage.

For its part, LS Power has had a hand in producing over 35,000 megawatts of clean energy in the United States. Most recently, the privately held firm received federal approval to proceed with its $600 million 275-MW Centinela solar project near El Centro, California.

Arizona's renewable energy standard requires state utilities to get at least 15% of their power from solar and other clean sources by 2025.