Questions emerge over tax breaks for solar project

Some statistics about Copper Mountain Solar, a 775,000-panel array outside Boulder City that went online last year as the largest photovoltaic solar plant in the United States, might seem surprising. And not in a good way. Temporary construction jobs created: 350. Not bad. Nevadans employed: 262. That’s a good share. Solar power coming to Nevada: 0. Zip. Parts manufactured in Nevada: 0. Zilch. Permanent jobs created: 5. That’s not a typo. State incentives developer Sempra Generation received: $12 million. That’s not a typo, either...But questions remain about what role government should play in the industry’s development, especially as figures from completed projects come to light. The quandary can be put this way: Is it worth spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to create only a handful of permanent jobs?...more