Amid an alarming trend of attacks targeting electric grid infrastructure in the country, a 34-year-old man in Las Vegas has been charged with one count of committing terrorism for attacking a solar facility that provides power to 13 MGM Resorts International casino properties.
While previous attacks have mostly targeted substations, causing widespread power outages in separate recent incidents in the Pacific Northwest and North Carolina, this attack was one of the first on a generation facility.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on Jan. 5 charged 34-year-old Mohammed Mesmarian with one count of committing terrorism, two counts of first- and third-degree arson, one count of destroying personal property and another count for attempted escape by a felony prisoner.
Mesmarian is accused of forcibly gaining entry to the 100-MW Harry Allen Solar Energy Center, known as the Mega Solar Array, just before noon on Jan. 4, where he crashed his car into the solar generator's transformer and then lit his car on fire.
Invenergy LLC and American Electric Power Co. Inc. employees, who operate the facility, advised law enforcement "that an unknown subject broke into the fenced facility and set a vehicle on fire next to a transformer," according to the Las Vegas police. Counterterrorism detectives subsequently determined that Mesmarian was the culprit and on Jan. 5 located him in Boulder City, Nev. and took him into custody, a police spokesperson said.
Las Vegas detectives said they believe this to be an isolated incident and there are no outstanding suspects.
The FBI on Jan. 9 confirmed that it had joined the Las Vegas police in the investigation. However, it could not provide any detail on the alleged assailant as the criminal probe is still ongoing.
Constructed and owned by AEP subsidiary AEP Renewables, with a 75% interest, and Invenergy with the remaining share, the Mega Solar Array sits on 715 acres of federal land in Clark County, Nev., managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which could raise the stakes for federal charges also being leveled against Mesmarian. The plant opened in June 2021 and is part of MGM's goal of transitioning to 100% renewable electricity in the U.S. and 80% globally by 2030. The output is under contract to MGM Resorts for a 20-year period.
Currently, the array produces energy for up to 90% of the daytime power needs of MGM Resorts' Las Vegas properties, which include the Bellagio, Mandalay Bay and MGM Grand hotels and casinos. Invenergy said electricity generation from the array would not be restored for a few days.
Meanwhile, two arrests were announced Jan. 3 related to multiple substation attacks made Christmas Day on two Puget Sound Energy Inc. and two Tacoma Public Utilities substations, according to federal prosecutors. Two men from Puyallup, Wash., were arrested New Year's Eve following a "fast-moving" FBI investigation, said the U.S. Attorney's office.
The break-ins and physical damage in the Washington case caused more than 14,000 customers to lose power. Damage to the Graham and Elk Plain substations owned by Tacoma Public Utilities subsidiary Tacoma Power Co. is estimated to be at least $3 million, according to federal prosecutors.
At least 10 Washington and Oregon substations have been attacked since November 2022, including the most recent Pierce County facilities, U.S. Attorney Nick Brown said in a Jan. 3 statement.
In the North Carolina incident in early December 2022, about 45,000 Duke Energy Corp. customers in Moore County, N.C., lost service after two substations were damaged by gunfire.
Commodity Insights reporter John Sicilliano produces content for distribution on S&P Global Connect. S&P Global Commodity Insights is owned by S&P Global Inc.