Energy firm wins bids for leasing land near Laughlin

Assessing the viability of a potential solar power project comes next for the energy company that secured the lease of public land near Laughlin at Tuesday's Clark County Commission meeting.

NextEra Energy Resources, through a bidding and auction process, secured the right to lease a total of 4,225 acres for just under $978,000 per year.

The acreage is in the same area where ENN Mojave Energy planned to manufacture solar panels and generate solar power over some 9,000 acres. That effort was abandoned due to an inability to secure a power purchase agreement with a user utility.

"Obviously we wouldn't be doing this if we didn't have some level of hope that we would be successful," said NextEra spokesman Steve Stengel. "Your entry into the game is having land that you can study to see if it's viable to support a solar project. ... That's the challenge of the development work."

The corporate website said NextEra Energy had consolidated revenue totaling $17 billion at the end of 2014, controlling some 44,900 megawatts of power while employing nearly 14,000 people in 27 states and Canada.

"We look forward to getting a project going down in Laughlin," County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak said shortly after the auction concluded. "I look forward to meeting you gentlemen and your company."

Laughlin Town Manager Jacqie Brady was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.