“This is the beginning of a renewable energy future,” Jewell said before helping turn on a large model light switch.
Desert Sunlight Solar Farm, a 550-megawatt farm that is the largest on public lands managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management, began operating in December 2014 and will provide enough energy to power more than 160,000 average California homes annually, said Georges Antoun, chief operating officer of the farm’s Tempe, Ariz.-based developer First Solar Inc.