SAN DIEGO, Dec. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), today announced that it has completed construction of the 92-megawatt (MW) first phase of a new photovoltaic solar power facility, Copper Mountain Solar 2, located in Boulder City, Nev., about 40 miles southeast of Las Vegas. 

The first phase of the project consists of nearly 1.5 million solar panels capable of generating enough clean, emissions-free electricity for about 27,600 average homes. 

"Copper Mountain Solar 2 is the third major solar project in Boulder City that Sempra U.S. Gas & Power has completed in the past five years," said Jeffrey W. Martin, president and CEO of Sempra U.S. Gas & Power. "Nevada has a great business climate with leaders at the federal, state and local level who have helped make our projects successful." 

Construction on the 1,100-acre site began in December 2011 and created about 630 jobs at the peak of construction.  The power generated at Copper Mountain Solar 2 is being sold to Pacific Gas & Electric under a 25-year contract.

When completed in 2015, the second-phase of Copper Mountain Solar 2 will produce an additional 58 MW, bringing the total output to 150 MW.

In addition to the first phase of Copper Mountain Solar 2, Sempra U.S. Gas & Power also developed 58MW of solar power at Copper Mountain Solar 1 in Boulder City.

"Sempra has been a great partner in turning Boulder City's vision of a dedicated solar energy zone into a reality," said Boulder City Mayor Roger Tobler. "The economic benefits that these projects bring into our community directly benefit our citizens. That steady stream of revenue has allowed Boulder City to continue to provide vital services and still move forward with our intention to be debt free in the next few years."

Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC is a leading developer of renewable energy and natural gas solutions.  The company operates solar, wind and natural gas power plants that generate enough electricity for nearly 1 million homes, along with natural gas storage and pipelines, and distribution utilities. Sempra U.S. Gas & Power is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2011 revenues of $10 billion. The Sempra Energy companies' nearly 17,500 employees serve about 31 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," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "potential," "target," "outlook," "depends," "pursue" or similar expressions, or discussions of guidance, strategies, plans, goals, 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. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon various assumptions involving judgments with respect to the future and other risks, including, among others: local, regional, national and international economic, competitive, political, legislative and regulatory conditions and developments; actions and the timing of actions by the California Public Utilities Commission, California State Legislature, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, California Energy Commission, California Air Resources Board, and other regulatory, governmental and environmental bodies in the United States and other countries where the company does business; capital market conditions, including the availability of credit and the liquidity of investments; inflation, interest and exchange rates; the impact of benchmark interest rates, generally the U.S. Treasury bond and Moody's A-rated utility bond yields, on the California utilities' cost of capital; the timing and success of business development efforts and construction, maintenance and capital projects, including risks inherent in the ability to obtain, and the timing of the granting of, permits, licenses, certificates and other authorizations; energy markets, including the timing and extent of changes and volatility in commodity prices; the availability of electric power, natural gas and liquefied natural gas, including disruptions caused by failures in the North American transmission grid, pipeline explosions and equipment failures; weather conditions, natural disasters, catastrophic accidents, and conservation efforts; risks inherent in nuclear power generation and radioactive materials storage, including catastrophic release of such materials, the disallowance of the recovery of the investment in, or operating costs of, the generation facility due to an extended outage, and increased regulatory oversight; risks posed by decisions and actions of third parties who control the operations of investments in which the company does not have a controlling interest; wars, terrorist attacks and cyber security threats; business, regulatory, environmental and legal decisions and requirements; expropriation of assets by foreign governments and title and other property disputes; the status of deregulation of retail natural gas and electricity delivery; the inability or determination not to enter into long-term supply and sales agreements or long-term firm capacity agreements; the resolution of litigation; and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of the company. 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.

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 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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SOURCE Sempra Energy