One recent example was an event in Henderson, Nevada where the Southern Nevada Water Authority kicked off operations at its first concentrated photovoltaic energy plant. The 308 kilowatt facility will be used to provide power for the region's water treatment operations.
"In addition to generating clean renewable energy, our new CPV solar plant will displace 500 tons of CO2 emissions and save half a million gallons of water each year compared to traditional power generation in Southern Nevada," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who made an appearance at the event.
Amonix, the company that designed and manufactured the solar plant, also announced at the time that it will use money from the government's Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit to build a new manufacturing facility in Southern Nevada. The facility will generate up to 150 megawatts per year of concentrated photovoltaic solar systems.
According to Amonix, the plant is expected to be open by the end of 2010 and will employ 278 people in a variety of capacities.
