First Solar To Build Nevada Photovoltaic Plant

CHRIS KAHN

NEW YORK (AP) — Solar manufacturer First Solar Inc. said Wednesday it will build the largest photovoltaic power plant in the U.S. near an existing facility in Nevada.

Tempe, Ariz.-based First Solar said the 48-megawatt plant will produce power for roughly 30,000 homes. It will be added to the existing 10-megawatt El Dorado plant run by Sempra Generation in Boulder City, Nev., about 40 miles southeast of Las Vegas.

John Carrington, First Solar's executive vice president for marketing and business development, said construction on the Copper Mountain Solar plant will begin this year and will be completed by 2010. Other companies have larger solar power plants under development, but Carrington said they use a different solar technology. ...