The Cosanti Foundation and the American Hydrogen Association (AHA) are collaborating on a plan that could make Arcosanti completely energy self-sufficient through the use of renewable energy.

The American Hydrogen Association has proposed a system for Arcosanti, which will generate all of the Arcosanti’s electricity requirements from sunlight through the use of a solar-thermal conversion process. A backup system utilizing water, stored hydrogen and stored oxygen for producing electricity at night and on cloudy days is also part of the proposal.

The Main feature of the plan is a densely situated complex of 40 solar-thermal-electric Genset dish units, which convert sunlight into electricity. These units, similar in appearance to large satellite dishes, would be installed a half mile from the main site, north of the access road and in full view of the highway.

The proposal calls for the Arcosanti system to utilize a newly designed state-of –the-art unit that is capable of producing 35 kilowatts of power per unity during each hour of sunlight. This system will potentially meet Arcosanti’s planned growth and power requirements to the year 2050.

A backup system to the solar-thermal conversion process is also planned. This system will use excess electricity produced by the Genset units during the day to split water through the process of electrolysis into its base elements of hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen and oxygen will be captured and stored, and then can be re-combined at night or on overcast days to produce sufficient energy to supply Arcosanti with electricity when the sun is not shining. The hydrogen and oxygen accumulated by this system can also be used on-site by Arcosanti for other purposes such as cogeneration, foundry operation, welding, transportation, cooking, etc…

The plan also includes the installation of a biomass conversion plant which will be capable of converting Arcosanti’s organic matter, garbage and sewage into hydrogen and carbon material. The hydrogen produced by the biomass system will be used for various Arcosanti energy applications as described in the above paragraph. The carbon material produced from the biomass system can be converted into structural carbon for use at Arcosanti or it can be sold as a raw material and thus become a revenue-producing commodity. As an additional benefit, organic waste from nearby communities such as Cordes Junction and Mayer could also be brought to the site and converted in the biomass system into hydrogen and structural carbon for Arcosanti’s use.