BOULDER CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada's dominant electric utility is marking completion of a solar power array in the desert outside Las Vegas.
Officials with NV Energy and Alabama-based Southern Power and SunPower said Tuesday the Boulder Solar I facility began providing 100 megawatts of electricity several weeks ago.
That's enough to power 60,000 homes during daytime hours.
The plant has almost 290,000 solar panels on nearly 1 square mile (2.6 square kilometers) in a dry lake bed in the Eldorado Valley area of Boulder City. That's about 20 miles east of Las Vegas.
The adjacent Boulder Solar II plant produces another 50 megawatts for NV Energy, and helps power Las Vegas city buildings, parks and lighting.
Publicly traded NV Energy is owned by Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary MidAmerican Energy Co. of Des Moines, Iowa.