SAN DIEGO, May 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra U.S. Gas & Power's Copper Mountain Solar 1 facility in Boulder City, Nev. has been recognized as the first solar power plant in the U.S. to receive the "Voluntary Protection Programs Star" work site designation from the State of Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Nevada OSHA). The award is the organization's highest recognition for exemplary safety performance.

"The State of Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration is honored to welcome Copper Mountain Solar 1 into its Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) as a 'Star' VPP site," said Jess Lankford, Nevada OSHA Chief Administrative Officer. "Nevada OSHA welcomes the opportunity to continue working cooperatively with Sempra U.S Gas & Power for the betterment of employee safety."  

Representatives from Nevada OSHA presented Copper Mountain Solar 1 with a Voluntary Protection Programs Star flag and a plaque at a ceremony held at the facility on May 20. Located in Boulder City, Nev., the 58-megawatt (MW) solar plant is the tenth Nevada work site to receive the Star designation since the first one was awarded in 2001.

"We are honored to be recognized by Nevada OSHA for our strong commitment to the health and safety of our employees as well as the local community," said Kevin Gillespie, senior director of construction & operations for Sempra U.S. Gas & Power. "This recognition is a testament to our strong safety culture and programs. I am proud of each and every team member who contributed to this remarkable outcome."

Copper Mountain Solar 1 was completed in December 2010. It is the first phase of Sempra U.S. Gas & Power's Copper Mountain Solar complex, among the largest photovoltaic (PV) solar facilities in the U.S. The 58-MW second phase of Copper Mountain Solar 2 and the 250-MW Copper Mountain Solar 3, jointly-owned with Consolidated Edison Development, were completed in 2015. The solar complex collectively generates 458 MW, enough energy to power approximately 142,000 homes.

Nevada OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs promote effective worksite-based safety and health activities. Acceptance into the organization's programs reflects and recognizes the outstanding occupational safety and health efforts of employers and employees.

Sempra U.S. Gas & Power's jointly-owned 150-MW Mesquite Solar 1 facility in Arizona has applied for the prestigious Voluntary Protection Programs Star designation from the State of Arizona's Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

About Sempra U.S. Gas & Power
Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC is a leading developer of renewable energy and natural gas solutions with power plants that generate enough electricity for nearly 600,000 homes. Sempra U.S. Gas & Power companies also operate natural gas storage facilities, pipelines and distribution utilities. The company is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2014 revenues of $11 billion. The Sempra Energy companies' 17,000 employees serve more than 32 million consumers worldwide. For more information, visit www.SempraUSGP.com.

This press release contains statements that are not historical fact and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These statements can be identified by words like "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates,"  "projects," "forecasts," "contemplates," "intends," "depends," "should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may," "potential," "target," "pursue," "goals," "outlook," "maintain" or similar expressions, or discussions of guidance, strategies, plans, goals, opportunities, projections, initiatives, objectives or intentions.  Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance.  They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions.  Future results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.  Factors among others that could cause our actual results and future actions to differ materially from those described in our forward-looking statements include: local, regional, national and international economic, competitive, political, legislative and regulatory conditions and developments; actions and the timing of actions, including issuances of permits to construct and licenses for operation, by the California Public Utilities Commission, California State Legislature, U.S. Department of Energy, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, California Energy Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board, and other regulatory, governmental and environmental bodies in the United States and other countries in which we operate; the timing and success of business development efforts and construction, maintenance and capital projects, including risks in obtaining, maintaining or extending permits, licenses, certificates and other authorizations on a timely basis and risks in obtaining adequate and competitive financing for such projects; energy markets, including the timing and extent of changes and volatility in commodity prices, and the impact of any protracted reduction in oil prices from historical averages; the impact on the value of our natural gas storage assets from low natural gas prices, low volatility of natural gas prices and the inability to procure favorable long-term contracts for natural gas storage services; delays in the timing of costs incurred and the timing of the regulatory agency authorization to recover such costs in rates from customers; capital markets conditions, including the availability of credit and the liquidity of our investments; inflation, interest and currency exchange rates; the impact of benchmark interest rates, generally Moody's A-rated utility bond yields, on our California Utilities' cost of capital; the availability of electric power, natural gas and liquefied natural gas, and natural gas pipeline and storage capacity, including disruptions caused by failures in the North American transmission grid, pipeline explosions and equipment failures and the decommissioning of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station; cybersecurity threats to the energy grid, natural gas storage and pipeline infrastructure, the information and systems used to operate our businesses and the confidentiality of our proprietary information and the personal information of our customers, terrorist attacks that threaten system operations and critical infrastructure, and wars; the ability to win competitively bid infrastructure projects against a number of strong competitors willing to aggressively bid for these projects; weather conditions, conservation efforts, natural disasters, catastrophic accidents, and other events that may disrupt our operations, damage our facilities and systems, and subject us to third-party liability for property damage or personal injuries; risks that our partners or counterparties will be unable or unwilling to fulfill their contractual commitments; risks posed by decisions and actions of third parties who control the operations of investments in which we do not have a controlling interest; risks inherent with nuclear power facilities and radioactive materials storage, including the catastrophic release of such materials, the disallowance of the recovery of the investment in, or operating costs of, the nuclear facility due to an extended outage and facility closure, and increased regulatory oversight; business, regulatory, environmental and legal decisions and requirements; expropriation of assets by foreign governments and title and other property disputes; the impact on reliability of San Diego Gas & Electric Company's (SDG&E) electric transmission and distribution system due to increased amount and variability of power supply from renewable energy sources; the impact on competitive customer rates of the growth in distributed and local power generation and the corresponding decrease in demand for power delivered through SDG&E's electric transmission and distribution system; the inability or determination not to enter into long-term supply and sales agreements or long-term firm capacity agreements due to insufficient market interest, unattractive pricing or other factors; the resolution of litigation; and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control.  These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that Sempra Energy has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and on the company's website at www.sempra.com. Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forecasts or projections or other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Sempra International, LLC, and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC, are not the same companies as the California utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) or Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), and Sempra International, LLC, and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC, are not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. Sempra International's underlying entities include Sempra Mexico and Sempra South American Utilities. Sempra U.S. Gas & Power's underlying entities include Sempra Renewables and Sempra Natural Gas.

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