Solar Energy is Hitting it Big on the Las Vegas Strip
posted Thursday Jul 21, 2016 by Michele Mendez
Las Vegas hosts millions of visitors each year for both leisure and business trips. Our team delights in the sights and sounds of the Las Vegas Strip on our annual tech pilgrimage to the Consumer Electronics Show, which is held at the various convention centers throughout the city. What's not to love about being immersed in the multitude of shows all around from lights on the strip and in the casinos to dancing fountains and star studded entertainment? Well, the cost, presumably... both monetary and environmental.
As everyone becomes increasingly energy conscience, the use of solar power is gaining momentum throughout the nation. More and more households, communities and businesses are taking advantage of tax incentives and lower prices and investing in solar energy. A popular place for large scale installations is the desert and Vegas itself is joining in on the trend. And what better place to go all in than the city whose grid is always at full capacity.
The Mandalay Bay Convention Center on the Las Vegas Strip now has the largest array of rooftop solar panels in the United States with 26,000 individual panels. Construction took two years to complete and the installation is capable of generating enough electricity to cover 25% of energy requirements of the convention center. And even more impressive is the fact that they will also be lowering their carbon dioxide output by over 8,000 metric tons in the immediate area. This is the equivalent of removing 1,700 vehicles from the road. Per a Mandalay Bay Convention Center announcement,
MGM Resorts International has a long history of integrating environmentally responsible practices throughout our operations to help preserve the planet's limited resources.
Not to be outdone, many other large casinos are now also investing in solar roof arrays of their own. This effort will not only help these locations keep their own energy costs down and result in a lower carbon footprint in the area, but will also attribute to Nevada's statewide goal of relying on renewable sources of energy for at least 25% of its electricity by 2025.
