A large solar power project in the Nevada desert is set to supply a decent portion of power needs for the big three Las Vegas Strip casino operators by the end of 2025.
The Escape Solar array will be built in Lincoln County, a large and mostly uninhabited part of Nevada some 50 miles north of Las Vegas.
The 900-acre site will use 389,000 photovoltaic panels to deliver 185 megawatts of capacity and 400 megawatt-hours of stored energy in batteries.
The recipients of the majority of this juice will be the three main luxury Las Vegas casino resort operators, MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts.
Developer Estuary Power this week announced the final $350 million round of funding it needed for the project. It also confirmed it had chosen Virginia-based construction firm Bechtel to deliver the build.
“We look forward to building a facility that will generate renewable energy for decades to come and add to Nevada’s successful history of renewable power generation,” said Kelley Brown, Bechtel operations manager.
The Project
Reno-based Estuary Power will be in charge of operating and maintaining the project. It says its new bifacial panel design will maximize energy production in the space available.
MGM Resorts is Las Vegas’ largest casino operator and will receive the lion’s share of the energy, with 115MW of capacity reserved for its properties. Caesars will get 25 MW and Wynn Resorts’ Las Vegas properties will get 20 MW.
The 400 MWH battery reserve is also set to power MGM’s properties, if needed.
Bechtel says it plans to finish building Escape Solar by Q3 2025. Estuary Power said it will be ready to open shortly after the build is complete. The facility is expected to bring $80 million in extra tax revenue for the sparsely populated Lincoln County.
Solar Power in Nevada
Solar power in Nevada has seen some successes in the past, such as MGM’s Mega Solar Array. But it has also seen some failures.
The Crescent Dunes was a $1 billion solar energy project in the Nevada desert that opened in 2011. It was plagued by design issues at first, and then financial problems at developer TonopahSolar. At one point, the fully functioning array was completely offline for two years due to financial and project management issues.
In early 2023, a man from Colorado crashed his car into the middle of MGM’s remote Mega Solar Array before setting the vehicle on fire and walking away to a nearby campground.
He was arrested a day later. MGM took the plant offline for several days while it was repaired, during which time it switched to the main electric grid for its power needs.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
