1st phase of Mexican solar project to be operating in April

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN
Associated Press

PUERTO PEÑASCO, Mexico (AP) — Mexico plans to power up the first phase of a huge solar energy project in April near a beach town popular with tourists making the short drive from the United States. Once completed, the full $1.6 billion project will have a generating capacity of 1,000 megawatts — enough to power some 500,000 homes. It will be the largest solar project built by Mexico’s state-owned electricity company. Near the top of the Gulf of California, rows of solar panels that tilt with the passing sun run off to the horizon hovering above the sand. The project will eventually cover 5,000 acres in the transition where the desert flattens between the rugged brown mountains and blue sea.