New $1billion project will supply 260,000 homes in Las Vegas with energy from the largest solar power facility in the US, and the eighth largest in the world

  • The Trump administration has approved a new solar power project in Las Vegas
  • Called Gemini Solar, the project will supply 260,000 with renewable electricity
  • It's estimated the three-year construction will generate $713M in economic activity for Las Vegas residents 
  •  Gemini Solar will be on 7,100 acres of public land 25 miles north of Las Vegas
  • The $1billion project will be the largest solar power facility in the US
The Trump administration has approved a new solar energy project that will supply an estimated 260,000 Las Vegas homes with renewable energy.
Once completed, the $1billion project, called Gemini Solar, will be the largest solar power project in the US and the eighth largest in the world.
According to the Department of the Interior, the three-year construction plan will generate $713million in economic activity for Las Vegas residents, including 900 new construction jobs and another 1,100 jobs in administrative and support roles.
The Trump administration has approved a proposal for a massive solar power facility in Las Vegas, called Gemini Solar, which will supply 260,000 with electricity
The Trump administration has approved a proposal for a massive solar power facility in Las Vegas, called Gemini Solar, which will supply 260,000 with electricity
Once completed in December 2023, the facility will require just 19 full-time workers to operate, according to a report in Reuters.
'This action is about getting Americans back to work, strengthening communities and promoting investment in American energy,' DOI's Casey Hammond said in a statement.
Gemini Solar will feature a 690-megawatt array of solar panels on 7,100 acres of public land 25 miles north of Las Vegas.
The facility will also include a 380-megawatt battery to store surplus energy as a backup for shortfalls in the system.
In early 2020, conservationist groups pushed for a delay in the project after raising concerns about how it would affect the local wildlife. 
To help address those concerns, Gemini Solar says they will relocate 70 tortoises to a nature conservancy during the three year-construction period, and then return them to their natural habitat after construction is complete.
Gemini Solar says their project will remove 1.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year, the equivalent of taking 290,000 cars out of circulation
Gemini Solar says their project will remove 1.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year, the equivalent of taking 290,000 cars out of circulation
John Rabe, director of the Bureau of Land Management, said he is also awaiting approval from Indian tribes in the region before formally issuing a final 'Notice to Proceed' order.
According to Gemini Solar, the project could reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the region by as much as 1.5 million metric tons a year, or the equivalent of taking 290,000 cars out of circulation.
Gemini Solar was developed by Arevia Power, a California-based energy group, with backing from Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway and Nevada's energy utility NV Energy.
Currently, the largest solar power facility in the US is California's Solar Star project, made up of 1.7 million solar panels across Kern and Los Angeles counties.
The facility produces around 579 megawatts of energy and powers around 255,000 homes in southern California.

WHAT IS SOLAR POWER?

Solar panels convert energy from the sun into electrical power (stock image)
Solar panels convert energy from the sun into electrical power (stock image)
Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity. 
Two methods for generating solar power exist.
Photovoltaics — the kind of solar panel you might see built into a calculator — are capable of directly converting light into electrical power. 
In concentrated solar power systems, however, mirrors or lenses are first used to collect the sunlight that falls on a large area and focus it — creating heat that can be used to drive a steam turbine and generate electricity.
The productivity of solar panels is dependant on the sunlight they receive in a given location — a factor which is dependant on both latitude and climate.
Optimum locations for solar farms include the arid tropics and subtropics, with deserts lying at such low latitudes often being cloudless and getting around 10 hours of sunlight each day.
According to NASA, the eastern part of the Sahara — the Libyan Desert — is the sunniest place on the Earth.
Solar power accounted for 1.7 per cent of the world's electricity production in 2017, and has been growing at a rate of 35 per cent each year.

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