LAS VEGAS—Wynn Las Vegas began the commercial operations of the new Wynn Solar Facility earlier this month. The new 160-acre facility is now offsetting up to 75 percent of the resort’s current peak power requirements, the largest percentage of renewable energy used by any resort in Las Vegas, and an industry first for a gaming operator in Nevada. The facility will eventually be used to power the resort’s new meetings and conventions space expansion, set to open in March 2020, with 100 percent renewable energy, making it one of the most environmentally conscious planned developments in Las Vegas.
“Nevada is the most dynamic state for renewable energy development, and the opening of the Wynn Solar Facility is a watershed moment for the resort industry,” says Erik Hansen, chief sustainability officer for Wynn Resorts. “The investment in renewable energy and the integration of energy efficient measures must be a larger part of the way responsible companies conduct business today. Our solar facility proves that integrating large-scale energy efficient measures can be done in a way that benefits the bottom line while also enhancing the guest experience.”
Owned and operated by Enel Green Power North America, Inc., The Wynn Solar Facility is a standalone solar photovoltaic project located in Fallon, Nevada adjacent to the existing Stillwater hybrid facility, and shares the existing connection infrastructure with the geothermal-solar hybrid plant. The Wynn Solar Facility generates up to 27 MWdc of renewable energy, equivalent to 20 MWac, to power the resort. With this renewable energy resource offsetting such a sizable percentage of Wynn’s peak power needs, the resort will far exceed requirements outlined in the Nevada Renewable Portfolio Standard.
Combined with the recently installed solar panels covering 103,000 square feet of Wynn’s rooftop, enough renewable energy will be generated to power 5,056 homes and eliminate 33,734 metric tons of CO2 emissions from the environment annually.
The company says that the new facility is part of its commitment to increase sustainable design practices, create and source renewable energy, and exceed LEED Gold Building Certification standards for projects in Las Vegas as well as Encore Boston Harbor, currently under construction in Everett, Massachusetts.
