Nevada Is All In on Solar Power
By Max Bearak, The New York Times.
Excerpt: Some of Vegas’ iconic casinos, convention centers and hotels — and thousands of households across the city, too — are using the sun to save money and better the planet’s odds at tackling climate change. ...Today in Nevada, around a third of all energy demand is met by solar panels. The state has the highest solar electricity generation per capita in the country, as well as the most solar-industry jobs per capita. ...Take the Strip. It uses more electricity than 300,000 households, which is more than the rest of Las Vegas combined. The state’s biggest employer, MGM Resorts International, which has 11 properties on the Strip, is betting on solar. ...MGM installed 26,000 panels on the roof of Mandalay Bay, an enormous casino and convention center at the Strip’s southern end. ...northeast of the city near a place called Dry Lake, ...MGM teamed up with a clean energy company to build an array of 322,000 panels. The panels now provide 90 percent of MGM’s daytime power....