Las Vegas makes a remarkable decision for the future of energy use of all municipal facilities. Beginning in 2017, all municipal buildings and facilities will be run by 100 percent renewable energy. A move to renewable energy would place Las Vegas as the largest city in the United States to have its municipal operations completely powered by renewable energy.
Las Vegas is generally seen as an energy waster when it comes to the 24 hour hotel lights and neon world of the Strip. In order to change this image of “energy wasters,” the city has been making a big push to become more efficient when it comes to power.
A recent decision by the Public Utilities Commision of Nevada (PUCN) has allowed three major cassino operations, Sands Corp., MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts, to leave the NV Energy market. Large casinos are now able to explore alternative methods of retrieving power such as solar or wind. The Wynn Resort has already expressed interest in creating large solar arrays that would allow the facility to run on mainly renewable energy and eventually convert to 100 percent.
The decision for all municipal operations (fire stations, street lights, city parks, etc.) still needs to go through an approval from the PUCN and could be done within the next few days. The city will purchase the electricity from NV Energy’s solar plant that is currently being constructed in Boulder City, NV.
NV Energy purchases the solar power at about $48 per megawatt and can store up to 100 megawatts of power. This offers the city of Las Vegas an inexpensive option to power its facilities on renewable energy.
Sol-Up has a mission to make Las Vegas a solar capital of the world. Contact us today for a solar quote and to get your solar panels today.