Solar array dedicated at Las Vegas water treatment plant

A newly installed solar array at a Las Vegas water treatment plant is part of the city’s effort to save $2.5 million annually in energy costs.

In a ceremony Thursday morning city officials dedicated the $19.7 million array at the water pollution control facility at 6321 E. Vegas Valley Drive.

When the decision to build the array was made the city was paying about 9.7 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity. The current rate is about 6.9 cents. The cost of power from the new arrays is expected to work out to about 6.8 cents for 35 years, city spokeswoman Diana Paul said.

The array includes about 15,000 solar panels that will produce enough electricity to provide about 20 percent of the facility’s power needs. It’s enough electricity to power about 300 homes.

It is just part of a citywide energy conservation effort aimed at saving $2.5 million annually. The broader effort includes retrofitting buildings with energy-efficient features, using more efficient lighting and installing solar panels on city facilities.

The array is significant because it represents about one-third of the city’s electricity usage; the remaining two-thirds comes from streetlights, traffic signals and city buildings.

Money for the array came from the city’s Sanitary Sewer Enterprise Fund, which comes from connection and service fees paid by customers.

The treatment facility handles about 45 million gallons of water daily.

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285 .