Copper_Mountain_Solar_Facility

Copper Mountain Solar Facility

Copper Mountain Solar Facility

Solar power plant in Nevada, United States

The Copper Mountain Solar Facility is a 802 megawatt (MWAC) solar photovoltaic power plant in Boulder City, Nevada, United States. The plant was developed by Sempra Generation. When the first unit of the facility entered service on December 1, 2010, it was the largest photovoltaic plant in the U.S. at 58 MW. [1] [2] [3] With the opening of Copper Mountain V in March 2021, it again became the largest in the United States. It is co-located with the 64 MW Nevada Solar One, 150 MW Boulder Solar, and 300 MW Techren Solar projects in the Eldorado Valley, thus forming a more than 1 gigawatt (GW) solar generating complex. By comparison, generating capacity at the nearby Hoover Dam is about 2 GW.

Quick Facts Country, Location ...

History

First unit

Sempra Generation completed the 10 MW demonstration plant named El Dorado Solar near the existing El Dorado natural gas-fired power station and the Nevada Solar One concentrated solar power plant in December 2008. [4] It was the company's first venture into utility-scale solar generation. A 48 MW second phase named Copper Mountain was constructed from January to December 2010 at a cost of about $141 million.[2] [5] At its construction peak more than 350 workers were installing the 775,000 First Solar panels on the 450-acre (180 ha) site. [1][3][6] The power from the original 10 MW plant is sold to Pacific Gas & Electric under a separate 20-year power purchase agreement.[7][8]

Second unit

Based on its successes with the first unit, a second 150 MW unit was approved adjacent to the site in late 2010 and a construction plan announced On August 4, 2011.[2][9] The first 92 MW phase came online in January 2013, and the 58 MW expansion phase was eventually completed in early 2015.

Third unit

Construction on the third, and thus far largest, 250 MW unit began in 2013 and was completed in early 2015, with a formal dedication ceremony on 30 April 2015.[10] This unit is located about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of the prior grouping, and is capable of generating enough electricity to power about 80,000 homes.[11]

Fourth unit

Copper Mountain Solar 4 is the fourth unit of the Copper Mountain Solar complex. Construction on the 94 MW unit, adjacent to the grouping of Units 1 and 2, commenced in 2015. It also sustained about 350 construction jobs at peak, and completed year-end 2016. In contrast to prior units, the rows of panels run north to south, with solar trackers tilting the rows from east to west in order to maximize energy production.[12]

Fifth unit

The 250 MW Copper Mountain 5 unit went online in March 2021.[13][14][15]

Facility unit details

Map of solar farms in the Eldorado Valley
More information Unit, Capacity MWAC ...

Electricity production

More information Year, Total Annual MW·h ...
More information Year, Jan ...
More information Year, Jan ...
More information Year, Jan ...
More information Year, Jan ...
More information Year, Jan ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Copper Mountain Solar Facility.

References

  1. [1]
    America's Largest PV Power Plant Is Now Live (December 6, 2010), Renewable Energy World.
  2. [2]
    "Copper Mountain Solar, the Largest Photovoltaic Solar Plant in the U.S." Solar Thermal Magazine. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  3. [3]
    Shine, Conor (March 20, 2012). "Five things you should know about Copper Mountain Solar before President Obama's visit". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  4. [4]
    "First Solar - Copper Mountain Solar 1". First Solar. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  5. [5]
    Goldberg, Delen (April 3, 2011). "Questions emerge over tax breaks for solar project". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  6. [6]
    "Copper Mountain Solar I". Archived from the original on 2014-01-06. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
  7. [7]
    "First Solar to Build 48MW Solar Power Plant for Sempra". Renewable Energy World. April 16, 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  8. [8]
    "America's Largest PV Power Plant Is Now Live". Renewable Energy World. December 6, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  9. [9]
    Sempra to expand Copper Mountain solar plant, Reuters, Aug 4, 2011
  10. [10]
    "SoCalGas Newsroom". mediaroom.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  11. [11]
    "Copper Mountain Solar 3 - Sempra Renewables". semprausgp.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  12. [12]
    "Copper Mountain Solar 4 - Sempra Renewables". semprausgp.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  13. [13]
    "Table 6.3. New Utility Scale Generating Units by Operating Company, Plant, and Month, 2021, Electric Power Monthly, U.S. Energy Information Administration, May 26, 2021". Archived from the original on 2016-11-23. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  14. [14]
    Nevada Utility is Putting $2 Billion into Solar Power and Storage, Renewable Energy World, June 01, 2018
  15. [15]
    Commission Approves Largest Clean Energy Investment in Nevada History, T&D World, January 08, 2019
  16. [16]
    "Copper Mountain 1 facility details". Archived from the original on 2016-06-19. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  17. [17]
    "PG&E Contracts With Sempra Generation For More Solar Power" (Press release). Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). July 27, 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  18. [18]
    "Copper Mountain 2 facility details". Archived from the original on 2016-06-15. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  19. [19]
    "Copper Mountain Solar 2 - Sempra Renewables". semprausgp.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  20. [20]
    "Copper Mountain 3 facility details". Archived from the original on 2016-06-15. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  21. [21]
    "Copper Mountain 4 facility details". Archived from the original on 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  22. [22]
    Copper Mountain Solar 4
  23. [23]
    "CM10, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  24. [24]
    "CM48, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  25. [25]
    "Copper Mountain Solar 2, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  26. [26]
    "Copper Mountain Solar 3, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  27. [27]
    "Copper Mountain Solar 4, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
    Share this article:

    This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Copper_Mountain_Solar_Facility, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.