Lockheed Martin To Support Utility-scale Solar Power Plant In Arizona

MOORESTOWN, NJ.- Starwood Energy Group Global, LLC, and Arizona Public Service Co. today announced they signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), a precondition to Lockheed Martin’s [NYSE: LMT] involvement to design and build the 290-megawatt Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant that will bring more utility-scale renewable energy to Arizona.

The project, named Starwood Solar I, will be owned by an affiliate of Starwood Energy. Lockheed Martin, as Starwood Energy’s exclusive partner, will serve as the project’s Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor. To support the project, Lockheed Martin will leverage the expertise gained from its solar energy testbed, a full-scale solar collector assembly in Moorestown, NJ.

The PPA signing is the next step in building one of the world’s largest CSP plants. The project is scheduled for completion in 2013, pending regulatory approval.

“Lockheed Martin is very pleased to partner on the Starwood Solar I project,“ said Chris Myers, Lockheed Martin vice president for Solar Energy programs. ”Our expertise with engineering and production makes us uniquely qualified to serve as the project’s EPC contractor. To drive to successful completion on this project, we are applying the kind of world class systems engineering and disciplined integration approaches that all of our domestic and international customers enjoy.”

Starwood Solar I will be constructed on 1,880 acres that will contain more than 3,000 100-meter parabolic troughs. The plant will be built in the Harquahala Valley, approximately 75 miles west of Phoenix. It will produce enough electricity for nearly 73,000 APS customers.

“We are delighted to enter into such an important relationship with APS and the people of Arizona,” said Brad Nordholm, Chief Executive Officer of Starwood Energy. “Along with Lockheed Martin, we look forward completing this project and providing cost-effective solar power for many decades.”

In addition to its work in solar energy with Starwood Energy, Lockheed Martin is working with its customers to address the nation’s energy and climate challenges in the areas of energy efficiency, management and storage, next-generation alternative energies, and climate monitoring.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 146,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion.