The 48-megawatt Copper Mountain solar plant will be part of the nation's largest operational photovoltaic site, operator Sempra Energy said. Sempra already runs a 10-megawatt solar power system in Boulder City, Nevada; combined, the two facilities will generate more electricity from solar energy than any other site.
Construction would commence after Sempra had contracted to sell the plant's output, the company said in May. With CPUC's announcement that PG&E would be allowed to buy the power Copper Mountain generates, assembly can move forward.
"This solar project [will provide] a reliable, efficient daytime source of energy for more than 330 days a year," Sempra Generation president and CEO Michael W. Allman said. Boulder City is located about 40 miles southeast of Las Vegas, in one of the sunniest parts of the country.
When the 58-megawatt project is finished - which should be by the end of 2010, Sempra anticipates - it will comprise almost 1 million solar panels.
