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Las Vegas City Facilities Now 100% Powered by Green Energy12-23-16 | News

Las Vegas City Facilities
"Now 100% Powered by Green Energy"

Solar is king in Las Vegas, from Las Vegas City Hall Plaza, to the parks, to the streetlights and even at the wastewater treatment plant. The Mandalay Bay Convention Center roof has 26,000 solar panels, which is reportedly the nation's largest rooftop solar array. At full power, the solar roof can produce about a quarter of the energy needs of the convention center. The U.S. utility NRG Energy owns and operates the 6.5 MW installation.
Photo: Mandalay Bay Convention Center

When the 100-MW Nevada Solar One facility in the Eldorado Valley near Boulder City went on line Dec. 12, 2016, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman officially announced that, "Thanks to our renewable initiatives and the Boulder Solar plant in Boulder City, our facilities are now 100% powered by green energy." The city has been working toward that goal since 2008.

The mayor explained that through a combination of "direct generation and credits," the city is powering more than 140 facilities (including streetlights) with renewable energy sources.

It's estimated that Las Vegas is saving $5 million a year in energy cost by tapping into renewable energy. Note: According to Hoover Dam power distribution figures, only 23.37% of the hydroelectric power generated by Hoover Dam goes to the state of Nevada.

Last year Vegas contracted with NV Energy to provide the city with renewable energy. Las Vegas-based NV Energy keeps the power on for nearly 40 million tourists a year, and 1.3 million Nevada customers in Las Vegas, Reno-Sparks, Henderson and Elko. NV Energy also supplies natural gas to 155,000 citizens in the Reno-Sparks area.

SunPower, founded in 1985 and headquartered in San Jose, Calif., developed, designed and constructed the Boulder Solar One plant. Construction began in Dec. 2015. SunPower has developed "Maxeon cell technology," which it says is the "world's highest efficiency solar panels." SunPower operates and maintains the facility, however, Southern Company subsidiary Southern Power acquired a controlling interest in the plant in November 2016. SunPower maintains the remaining interest. NV Energy will purchase the electricity and associated portfolio energy credits generated by Boulder Solar I under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, is a leading wholesale electricity provider. Southern Power and its subsidiaries own or have the rights to 43 facilities operating or under construction in 11 states with more than 12,000 MW of generating capacity in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.