SunPower to develop 100MW plant in Boulder City, Nevada

• 
  The plant is expected to produce enough energy to power 15,000 homes. Image: SunPower

Solar panel developer and manufacturer SunPower has signed off on a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with NV Energy to develop a 100MW PV plant in the Eldorado Valley in Boulder City, Nevada.

Tom Werner, CEO and president of SunPower said: "Today, power generated from solar plants is cost-competitive with power from traditional, fossil fuel burning plants – and becoming more cost-competitive every day.

“Increasingly, utilities are adding solar to their energy mix to ensure their customers are taking advantage of the reliable and emission-free power of the sun. We are pleased to partner again with NV Energy to enable more Nevada homes and businesses to take advantage of the state's abundant solar resource."

The installation, titled "Boulder Solar," is expected to create 200 jobs during its development, with a completion date set before the end of 2015 and commercial operation slated for 2016.

Once completed, the plant will produce enough energy to power 15,000 homes — based on estimates calculated by the Solar Energy Industries Association.

SunPower acquired the project from KOMIPO America — a subsidiary of Korea Midland Power — earlier this year. KOMIPO America will still take part in the construction and maintenance of the plant, while the PPA with NV Energy is still subject to approval by the Nevada Public Utilities Commission.

Comprised of SunPower Oasis Power Plant systems, the site is estimated to offset nearly 192,000 tonnes of CO2 annually — the equivalent of removing 740,000 cars from the road over the next 20 years.