Project at a Glance

Project Overview

The Copper Mountain Solar Park is a Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant (PV) that converts sunlight into electricity. It is built in multiple phases, with the opening phase in 2010. The Copper Mountain Solar is one of the biggest solar farms in the US, located in Boulder City, Nevada.

It is owned and operated by Sempra Renewables, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy. The solar project has a total capacity of 802 MW and covers an area of 4,000 acres. It has installed 9 million solar panels in all 5 phases of the solar projects. 

The PV technology has improved a lot. It has increased its productivity and reduced the cost. It is a renewable technology with no fuel cost. It generates electricity during the daytime, when electricity consumption is higher.  

Project Background & Details

EI Dorado Solar, a 10 MW demonstration plant near the El Dorado natural gas station and the Nevada Solar One concentrated solar power plant, was completed by Sempra Generation in December 2008. It was the company's first venture into utility-scale solar generation.

The second phase (Copper Mountain Solar 1) was built from January to December 2010 at a cost of USD 141 million. It has a total capacity of 48 MW. It has installed 775,000 solar panels on the 450-acre land.

The Copper Mountain Solar 2 is a 150 MW solar plant built in two phases. The first phase was operational in late 2012, and the second in early 2015. Its construction plan was announced in August 2011. 

The Copper Mountain Solar 3 has a capacity of 250 MW and is able to supply electricity to around 89,000 homes. Its construction started in 2013 and was completed in 2015. A formal dedication ceremony was held on April 30, 2015. 

The Copper Mountain Solar 4 is a complex solar built in two phases. It has a total capacity of 94 MW. Its construction started in 2015. The Copper Mountain 5 was operational in 2021 and has a 250 MW capacity.

Electricity Generation Capacity

The project generated 1,392,080 MWH of electricity in 2020. The Copper Mountain Solar 1 generates 124,000 MWH, Copper Mountain Solar 2 has generated 371,568 MWH, Solar 3 has generated 629,015 MWH, and Solar 4 has generated 267,497 MWH of electricity. 

Project Location

The Copper Mountain Solar Facility is located in Boulder City, Nevada, in Clark County, US. It is a Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant (PV) and one of the biggest solar farms in the US. 

Project Cost

The total cost of the Copper Mountain facility is approximately USD 1.5 billion, which was used to erect 9 million photovoltaic modules.

Copper Mountain Solar 1

The Copper Mountain Solar 1 Photovoltaic power plant is located in Boulder, Nevada, US. It is approximately 65 km southeast of Las Vegas. With a total capacity of 48 MW, it was the largest Photovoltaic Plant in the US. It was operational in December 2010. 

It is a zero-emission electricity that doesn’t destroy the environment and supplies electricity to approximately 14,000 homes. Its Construction costs amount to USD 141 million. The Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Company has signed a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the electricity production. It is a San Francisco-based combined natural gas and electric utilities company.  

The plant was named ‘Solar Project of the Year’ by Renewable Energy World during a conference held in Tampa in 2011. 

Copper Mountain Solar 2

The Copper Mountain Solar is a 150 MW PV Plant, developed in two phases. The first phase focuses on building a 92 MW capacity. Its construction started in December 2011 and was completed in late 2012. Further, the second phase focuses on building a 58 MW PV Plant. The construction began in 2013 and was completed in 2015. 

It covers an area of 1,100 acres and uses around 1.5 million solar panels in its construction phase. In 2020, the Copper Mountain Solar 2 has generated around 371,568 MWH annually. It powers around 53,000 homes. 

To facilitate the delivery of electricity to Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) under a 25-year power purchase agreement, the Copper Mountain Solar 2 substation was connected to the existing infrastructure by a 1.5-mile, 230 kV transmission line built by Coppertino Electric.

Copper Mountain Solar 3

Copper Mountain Solar 3 is a PV Plant installed by Cupertino Electric (CEI). It focuses on building the 250 MW PV Plant. Its construction started in September 2013 and was completed in 2015. A formal dedication ceremony was held on April 30, 2015.

The Solar 3 highlighted a fixed-tilt solar racking design. It has created approximately 500 solar jobs during its construction phase. Electricity produced is sold to the  Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the City of Burbank through the Southern California Public Power Authority, under a PPA of 20 years. It supplies electricity to nearly 89,000 homes. 

Copper Mountain Solar 4

The Copper Mountain Solar 4 is a 94 MW PV plant built in two phases. Its construction started in 2015, and the project was online in 2016. It is being developed in two phases. The first phase generated 42 MW AC, and the second generated 52 MW AC. 

It is located at 659 Eldorado Valley Drive, Boulder City, near the Copper Mountain Solar 1 & 2. Unlike its predecessors, Copper Mountain Solar 4 uses north-south panels with solar trackers that tilt east to west, maximizing energy production by following the sun's path. It created around 350 jobs during the construction. 

In the year 2020, this solar plant generated nearly 267,497 MWH of electricity. It is equivalent to the power around 24,000 homes annually. 

Copper Mountain Solar 5

The Copper Mountain Solar 5 is a 250 MW PV plant, whose construction was completed in 2021. It is at 87 Eldorado Valley Drive, Boulder City, NV 89005. It powers approximately 63,000 homes annually and produces approximately 691.3 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity. 

Over 1,100 acres of grading, 20 miles of electrical trenching, 16 miles of project roads, and 80 electrical equipment pads were installed as part of Copper Mountain Solar 5.

Investors of Copper Mountain

Contractors of Copper Mountain

Benefits

The Copper Mountain Solar Facility benefits the environment, the economy, and the technology sector. These benefits are as follows:

• Reduce greenhouse gas: The Copper Mountain Solar generates clean energy. As a result, it has reduced approximately 419,000 tons of greenhouse gases annually. It is equal to removing 88,000 cars off the road. 

• Sustainability & land use: The Copper Mountain Solar Facility focuses on reducing environmental effects through careful site selection and habitat conservation. It also practices agrivoltaics. It is a process of combining agricultural activities beneath solar panels.

• Employment generation: The project has created approximately 800 jobs during its construction phase. Today, it is supporting the local economy.

• Economic impact: During the project's operation, Nevada's economy benefits from approximately $22.8 million annually and a one-time impact of $2 billion from the complex's construction. Over the 26-year project period, Boulder City is expected to receive $201.6 million in net revenues.

• Tax Incentives & Revenue: The project has also received benefits from the federal tax credits covering 30% of the project cost. It also benefits from the state-provided incentives, including the sales tax and reduced property tax of USD 12 million. 

• Modern Photovoltaic Tracker: The Copper Mountain Facility uses modern solar tracking technologies that allow panels to move with the sun, maximizing their energy absorption capacity during the day. 

Conclusion

The Copper Mountain Solar Facility has set new standards for advancing Solar Power plants in the United States. It has used modern thin-film and monocrystalline silicon PV cells and a solar tracking system, improving its efficiency and energy yield. It has also played a role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by generating clean energy. 

The project has boosted the US economy by generating 800+ jobs during its construction phase. It has also generated revenue for the state and local government. Implementing modern inverters and grid integration technologies ensures that a larger percentage of generated power reaches the grid with minimal loss, enhancing overall efficiency and reliability.

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