In a collaboration advanced by Arizona State University LightWorks, AORA Solar NA will install a hybrid concentrated solar power plant on undeveloped university land near the Karsten Golf Course. The plant employs a tower (approximately 100 feet high) appropriately called the Solar Tulip, which concentrates the sun’s energy and turns it into electricity. The system not only produces power 24/7, moving seamlessly from solar to natural gas or biogas, but also uses little to no water while producing a high quality thermal output.

AORA will work with a multidisciplinary ASU team to research options to increase efficiency, improve reliability, utilize the exhaust heat and decrease the cost of this Israeli-developed technology. ASU faculty, research staff and students will work hand in hand with AORA to enhance the system. The groundbreaking is expected to occur in April, with the anticipated operation date in either late September or early October. The ASU/AORA collaborative relationship will not only bring ASU closer to its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2025, but will also benefit students and researchers across multiple fields of study.