The Solana Solar Power Plant planned to begin operation in 2013, to be located near Gila Bend, Arizona, about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Phoenix. It will be built and operated by the Spanish company Abengoa Solar, and will have a total capacity of 280 megawatts (MW), which is enough to power 70,000 homes while avoiding around 475,000 tons of carbon dioxide. Its name is the Spanish term for "sunny spot".

Arizona Public Service (APS) has contracted to purchase 100% of the power output generated from Solana Solar Power Plant, to meet the Arizona Corporation Commission's (ACC) mandate that the state's regulated utilities provide 15% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2025. APS will pay about 14 ¢/kW·h. The Solana Solar Power Plant, originally planned to open in 2011, will cost an estimated $2 billion. On July 3, 2010, US President Barack Obama announced that the US Department of Energy had conditionally committed to offering a $1.45 billion loan guarantee to support construction of the plant.

The Solana Solar Power Plant will employ a proprietary concentrating solar power (CSP) trough technology developed by Abengoa, and will cover an area of 1,900 acres (770 ha). Construction is expected to create about 1,500 construction jobs; once completed, the plant will employ 85 full-time workers. Solar thermal plants use substantially more water for cooling than other thermal generating technologies. Nevertheless, the Sierra Club supports the Solana plant, because it will be built on private land, and use "75 to 85 percent less water than the current agricultural use."