Arizona mega marketplace will be cooled by Gree

Gree Electric Appliances has just been contracted to supply photovoltaic (PV or solar) air conditioners for North America's most complete global product marketplace in Casa Grande, Arizona. Comprising more than 1,200 cooling units, it is reportedly the largest AV air-conditioning project in the world.

The two-story mall-like PhoenixMart complex is located 40 minutes from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and halfway between the large cities of Phoenix and Tucson. 

Signing ceremony

It will open this year on a 585-acre development consisting of showrooms, office space, warehousing, condominiums, five-star resorts and spas, single-family homes, retail shopping and dining, corporate office complex, parks, entertainment, as well as additional services and amenities. PhoenixMart is to have 2,000 showrooms with goods and services from worldwide small and mid-size companies.

Air-conditioning is vital to life in the subtropical Sonoran Desert climate. Summers are extremely hot and winters mild to warm.

The challenge for Gree, which is headquartered in Qianshan, Zhuhai, is to keep the complex cool with minimum pollution or high-energy costs. Therefore, the combined capacity of the PV panels will exceed 6.7 megawatts, which will allow a total cooling capacity of 4,200 tons.

Gree's 2nd-generation PV multi VRF unit was selected to apply to this project. It has five operating modes and can adapt to different operation environment by adjusting the function to select power generation, consumption and supply to public power grid.

It has integrated combining box, dc-to-ac converter, and related technologies to greatly reduce the installation cost and save the space. 

Foundation for PhoenixMart in Casa Grande [Photos provided by Gree Electric Appliances]

Marshall Stahl, executive director of PhoenixMart, said that in order to cope with energy and environmental problems, Gree has been actively explored the combination of new energy and air conditioner, thus Gree PV air conditioner was then developed. "We had the same vision when preparing to construct the PhoenixMart. That's why we choose Gree," he added.

According to industry insiders, if an average of 10.5 million kWh of electricity can be generated annually, the machines can earn up to 15 million ($2.3 million) in emissions credits over 30 years and save up to 400 million yuan ($62.5 million) in electricity expenditures. Meanwhile, the system can eliminate emissions of up to 8,600 tons of carbon dioxide, 72 tons of sulfur dioxide, 33 tons of nitride, and 56 tons of dust.

Gree has already constructed 5,000 PV systems in 22 countries and regions. Gree Electric North America has established centers in New York, Chicago, and Houston. They are a combination of commercial air-conditioner display centers, technical training hubs, pre-sales consulting zones, and after-sales technical service areas.