BoulderCity's Eldorado Energy Zone could soon have another solar power plant: Plans for another solar panel system were introduced Tuesday after the Boulder City Council approved a development agreement between the city and the company backing the project.
In January, the city and Delaware-based Sempra Generation signed a 50-year lease for about 1,500 acres of land, dubbed the Black Hills site. The Black Hills project will serve as the sixth renewable energy project to be built on city land; Sempra has already built a 48-megawatt utility-scale solar panel system that went online in December.
The proposed solar panel system would produce roughly 200 megawatts of power upon completion, according to Bryce Alstead, an attorney for Sempra. Over the next 20 years, the deal could bring in $200 million in revenue to the city, said Vicki Mayes, the city manager. Mayes contends that solar panel systems could help the city reduce its debt by more than 50 percent over the next seven to eight years.
The solar plant is projected to cost nearly $1 billion, with construction tentatively set to begin late in 2012.