Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010 | 12:05 p.m.
Sempra Generation's Copper Mountain solar power plant in Boulder City, the largest photovoltaic plant in the U.S., opened this week.
The 48-megawatt facility, located on 380 acres in Eldorado Valley on the city's edge, will generate enough electricity to power about 14,000 homes in a day, Sempra said in a news release.
Construction began in January, employing about 350 workers, who installed nearly 775,000 razor-thin photovoltaic panels at the site. The plant opened Monday.
The plant's completion "demonstrates that large-scale solar can be developed at a rapid pace to help this country meet its clean energy needs," Sempra President Jeffrey W. Martin said in the release.
The energy produced by the plant has been sold to Pacific Gas and Electric in California under a pair of 20-year contracts.
Boulder City has four projects open or under construction in Eldorado Valley as part of an initiative to generate new revenue for the city, which has seen traditional sources falter and been forced to make budget cuts in response.
This year, Sempra will pay $650,000 to the city for its lease.
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