Nevada Officials Help Dedicate Sempra Energy's First Solar Power Installation
San Diego, CA - Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons, Boulder City Mayor Roger Tobler, Neal Schmale, president and chief operating officer of Sempra Energy, and other dignitaries were on hand recently in southern Nevada to officially dedicate Sempra Energy's new El Dorado Energy Solar facility, the largest thin-film solar power facility in North America.
The 10-megawatt (MW) project is located adjacent to the company's existing 480 MW El Dorado Energy natural gas-fired power plant near Boulder City, Nev., about 40 miles southeast of Las Vegas.
The El Dorado Energy Solar project is Sempra Energy's first solar power-generation project and required just six months to build. Construction began in July 2008 and was completed in December 2008. It involved the installation of more than 167,000 solar modules on 80 acres of desert property designated as a renewable energy zone and leased from Boulder City.
The new project's entire 10-MW output has been contracted under a 20-year power purchase agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric, the Northern California utility. The contract is subject to approval by the California Public Utilities Commission.
At peak production, El Dorado Energy Solar will generate enough electricity to power approximately 6,400 homes.
"Sempra Energy's new solar project illustrates substantial foresight and the willingness to deploy an advanced photovoltaic technology on a scale attractive to utilities and other major power customers," Gov. Gibbons said. "I look forward to seeing more projects like this in the Silver State."
"Confronting climate change and the need for new, clean electric resources is one of the great challenges we face," said Schmale. "We are excited about the potential of solar power and see this project as an important advance in solar power in North America."
The new installation's advanced thin-film semiconductor technology converts sunlight into electricity without air emissions or water use. These modules, manufactured by Arizona-based First Solar, Inc., can produce more electricity under real-world conditions than conventional solar modules with similar power ratings.
An additional 50-MW expansion phase of the project is under active consideration.
Unlike some solar power projects, El Dorado Energy's solar power plant will not use water or other liquids in the power-generation process. This water conservation feature makes the project especially suitable to the arid U.S. Southwest. As with other solar projects, the new Sempra Generation facility will generate electricity during the day when customer demand peaks.
First Solar manufactured the solar modules, was the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project and is charged with monitoring and maintaining the plant.
SOURCE: Sempra Energy