SolarWorld has announced it is supplying its 72-cell solar panels for a 17.5 MW project that the Valley Electric Association (VEA) is undertaking in the Mojave Desert town of Pahrump, Nev. The project will feature 51,562 SolarWorld 340 W modules made at the company’s Americas headquarters in Hillsboro, Ore.
Bombard Renewable Energy, a SolarWorld commercial and residential authorized installer and longtime business partner, is conducting engineering, procurement and construction for the project. VEA and Bombard have collaborated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect Mojave Desert tortoises inhabiting the 80-acre project site. Aside from design and construction innovations, resulting measures will include research and monitoring to gauge the impact of solar installations on plants, animals and birds.
“SolarWorld applauds the multiple ways that this project will fulfill the interests of sustainability,” says Mukesh Dulani, U.S. president of SolarWorld. “First, of course, the VEA is tapping the abundant energy falling from the sun onto its market territory. Second, it’s taking extra steps to conserve the surrounding desert habitat. Finally, it’s undertaking a system built of domestically produced goods, which not only avert needless shipping emissions but also embody the high labor, environmental and quality standards of American producers.”
Project completion is expected by summer.
