This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic newsletter.

January 16, 2013

A Solar Win for Arizona

Arizona is ringing in the New Year with a solar win. About 40 miles west of Phoenix, one of America's largest solar photovoltaic installations scaled up to commercial operation. The project, Mesquite Solar 1, is led by Sempra Energy with support from the Energy Department's Loan Guarantee Program.

Mesquite Solar 1 taps into 300 days of sunshine each year to generate 150 megawatts (MW) of clean electricity—enough to power about 30,000 homes. The success of Mesquite Solar has been a boon to the surrounding community—creating nearly 530 jobs for Arizonans since construction began.

With the first phase of the Mesquite Solar project now complete, Sempra is focusing on the development of the remaining 4,000-acre solar complex. The team is on track to operate more than 1,000 MW of renewable energy capacity by the end of 2013. For the complete story, see the Energy Blog.