EDF Renewable Energy has fully commissioned the Switch Station 1 and Switch Station 2 solar power plants, which have a combined generation capacity of 179 MW.
Power produced by the plants will be supplied to Switch through power purchase agreements (PPAs) with subsidiaries of NV Energy.
US Senator Harry Reid said: “Less than a decade ago, Nevada’s solar energy landscape was nonexistent, but this commissioning helps fulfill the vision I had to make our state the leader in renewable energy development.”
The solar projects are located on the land managed by the US Bureau of Land Management in the Dry Lake Solar Energy zone (SEZ) and comprises of 1,980,840 solar panels.
Through a lease auction in 2014, the land for the facility was acquired by First Solar.
In July, EDF Renewable Energy, a subsidiary of the French energy company EDF had acquired two solar projects from First Solar.
According to the company, the project’s construction took nearly 12 months to complete, creating about 550,000 workhours.
The energy generated from the solar plants will be enough to power about 46,000 Nevada households, while avoiding more than 265,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually.
Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak said: “The Switch Station solar projects are a great example of how our commitment to renewable energy has helped to stimulate economic growth in the County.
“The solar projects created hundreds of construction jobs and economic benefits, and the use of our abundant natural resources are fueling long-term, high-tech job creation centers such as Switch.”
Image: The project’s construction took nearly 12 months to complete. Photo: Courtesy of RK008/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.