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Nellis to serve as backdrop for Obama speech

President Barack Obama will travel Wednesday to Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., to tour the country’s largest solar energy farm before giving a speech in the Thunderbirds’ hangar on economic stimulus funding, said base spokeswoman 1st Lt. Jennifer Richard.

Nellis’ 140-acre power plant was finished in late 2007 as a public-private partnership with a local utility. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Air Force will receive $1.4 billion for base improvements, much of which is going toward green-energy initiatives.

“President Obama is traveling to Las Vegas to announce new Recovery Act funds for job-creating solar and geothermal energy projects like the ones taking place in Nevada,” said Nicholas Shapiro, a White House spokesman.

The Nellis power plant was funded by the local utility company in return for energy credits it sold to other utilities. The Air Force buys the power at a reduced rate and estimates the plant will save the service $40 million over the life of the plant, or about $1 million per year.