Sempra Opens 48-MW Solar Photovoltaic Facility in Nev.

Sempra Generation last week officially dedicated the 48-MW Copper Mountain Solar facility, a project located adjacent to the company’s 10-MW El Dorado Solar installation in Boulder City, Nev., about 40 miles southeast of Las Vegas. Sempra is calling the facility “the largest photovoltaic solar plant in the U.S.”

Construction on the project began in January 2010 at the 380-acre desert site. Nearly 775,000 thin-film photovoltaic solar panels, which convert sunlight directly into electricity, were installed. The power from Copper Mountain Solar and El Dorado Solar has been sold to Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) under separate 20-year contracts.

Sempra plans to expand the complex by more than 200 MW, a plan recently approved by Boulder City. But the company has even bigger plans for newer photovoltaic facilities. Construction of the 600-MW Mesquite Solar I facility is expected to begin this year, with operation starting in 2013. The first 150 MW is contracted to PG&E. Sempra, meanwhile, is also developing a 250-MW project in Colorado with BP Wind Energy and a 200-MW solar farm in Kern County, Calif.

Sources: Sempra, POWERnews