First phase of Boulder City solar power plant finished

Copper Mountain Solar One

Copper Mountain Solar One and Eldorado Solar are seen on the left and Nevada Solar One on the right of Eldorado Valley Road off U.S. 95 in Boulder City on Thursday, Feb. 10, 2011. Launch slideshow »

A San Diego developer has finished construction of the first phase of a solar power plant in Boulder City.

The 92-megawatt phase consists of nearly 1.5 million solar panels that can power about 27,600 homes, Sempra U.S. Gas & Power said Tuesday. The 58-megawatt second phase of its “Copper Mountain Solar 2” project is expected to be completed in 2015.

Construction began last December.

The power generated there will be sold under a 25-year contract to Pacific Gas and Electric Co., a San Francisco-based utility that serves about 15 million people in Northern and Central California.

The facility is part of Sempra’s broader Copper Mountain Solar complex, one of the largest photovoltaic solar plants in the country.

The first phase, Copper Mountain Solar 1, opened in December 2010. The power generated there is sold to PG&E under a 20-year contract and can serve the equivalent of about 17,000 homes.

The second phase, Copper Mountain Solar 2, is expected to serve 45,000 homes. The third phase, Copper Mountain Solar 3, is slated to be finished in 2015 and generate enough power for 75,000 homes.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa last week finalized a deal to buy power from Copper Mountain Solar 3 for L.A. households. The same day, he signed off on a deal to buy power from the Moapa Solar Energy Center, 30 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

The Moapa facility, from developer K Road Power, is expected to be completed in summer 2015.

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