Sempra Generation, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), announced that it has completed construction on the largest photovoltaic solar power plant in the U.S.
The 48-megawatt (MW) Copper Mountain Solar facility, located in Boulder City, Nev., about 40 miles southeast of Las Vegas, is now generating enough electricity to power about 14,000 average homes.
Construction on Copper Mountain Solar began in January 2010 at the 380-acre desert site. About 350 construction workers at peak installed nearly 775,000 thin-film photovoltaic solar panels.
"Completing Copper Mountain Solar is a major accomplishment. It demonstrates that large-scale solar can be developed at a rapid pace to help this country meet its clean energy needs," said Jeffrey W. Martin, president and CEO of Sempra Generation. "We have a focused plan aimed at developing more than 1,000 MW of solar projects in California, Arizona and Nevada that will provide solid returns well into the future."
First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) supplied the solar panels and served as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor.
The power from Copper Mountain Solar and Sempra Generation's adjacent 10-MW El Dorado Solar plant has been sold to Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)(NYSE: PCG) under separate 20-year contracts.
Sempra Generation is expanding its renewable energy portfolio throughout the Western U.S. The company expects to begin construction on the first phase of a 600-MW solar project in Arizona next year, and recently received approval to build a 200-MW solar farm in Kern County, Calif. The company also recently announced that it has become an equal partner with BP Wind Energy in the development of a 250-MW wind project in Colorado that is currently under construction.
