SunPower has started construction on the 100 MW Boulder solar energy plant in the Eldorado Valley of Boulder City, Nevada. The firm has also signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with NV Energy, which estimates the plant will cater for the daytime electricity needs of more than 60,000 homes. The plant will be located on 243 hectares of land, owned by Boulder City, which is being leased to SunPower under a long-term lease agreement. The project, which is due to be operational next year, is expected to create around 200 jobs in the construction phase.

 

SunPower is using its Oasis Power Plant technology, which is a power block of modules that can be deployed many times over for utility-scale projects in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The technology now includes robotic solar panel cleaning capability, which the company claims uses 75 percent less water than traditional cleaning methods and can help improve system performance by up to 15 percent.