MGM Resorts International recently announced it has launched a 100 megawatt (MW) solar array, the hospitality industry's largest directly sourced renewable energy project worldwide. The array produces up to 90% of the MGM Resorts' Las Vegas daytime power needs, spanning 65 million square feet of buildings across 13 properties and more than 36,000 rooms on the Las Vegas Strip, including Bellagio, ARIA, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand and The Mirage, among others.
Located in the desert north of Las Vegas, MGM Resorts' Mega Solar Array features 323,000 panels arranged across 640 acres. Its renewable electricity production will be equivalent to the amount of power used by approximately 27,000 average U.S. homes annually. MGM resorts is the sole user of the renewable electricity produced.
The Mega Solar Array project was developed in partnership with Invenergy – a leading privately held developer and operator of sustainable energy solutions – and structured through a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). In early 2021, Invenergy sold a 75% interest in the MGM Resorts Mega Solar Array to AEP Renewables, a subsidiary of American Electric Power. Invenergy Services, a subsidiary of Invenergy, will provide operations and maintenance and balance of plant services under a long-term agreement.