No US city is more synonymous with lights than Las Vegas, but things will look different on the Strip on Saturday night as some venues go dark from 8:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. in observance of the World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour.
Count Caesars Entertainment, one of the largest Strip operators, among the gaming companies participating Earth Hour. The company said it will turn off all non-essential lighting at its Las Vegas venues during the aforementioned hour on Saturday night.
That includes the iconic Eifel Tower at the Paris — an integrated resort named for the French capital, which, ironically, is often referred to as “the city of lights.”
Caesars says it’s participating in the event to boost awareness of climate change.
Every year, at 8:30 pm on the last Saturday of March, supporters in over 190 countries and territories unite, taking action on and raising awareness of the issues facing our one home,” according to Earth Hour’s sponsors.
Venetian Las Vegas and the Venetian Expo are also participating, but Wynn Resorts says Wynn and Encore will not go dark, reports Fox5 Las Vegas.
Caesars Green Efforts
Caesars is among the gaming companies looking to realize cost efficiencies by embracing renewable energy.
For example, the Harrah’s operator is looking to increase its use of solar power in Nevada and is mulling solar-covered parking at its venues in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The company also has an extensive portfolio of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across its roster of properties.
“We also host one of the largest and most advanced Tesla Supercharger station and energy center in Nevada at the LINQ Promenade in Las Vegas, with photovoltaic canopies, battery storage, 15 level II charging stations and 24 Tesla version 3 Superchargers,” notes Caesars. “Guest use of the Tesla charging station has exceeded expectation, supporting more than 80,000 charging sessions since the station was opened in 2019 resulting in estimated avoided emissions of over 3,000 metric tons of CO2 to date.”
Caesars isn’t alone among gaming companies in terms of sustainability efforts. Rival MGM Resorts is a major consumer of solar power and Wynn has an in-house sustainability program known as Goldleaf, which includes the company’s sustainability initiatives, such as carbon reduction and boosting the use of renewable energy.
Earth Hour Barely Dents Las Vegas Power Consumption
While Earth Hour is a reminder about climate change, the event doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of Las Vegas power consumption as casinos there account for 20 percent of the city’s annual power demands.
By some estimates, the Strip runs on 8,000 megawatts of power per day and some integrated resorts there contend with six-figure monthly electric bills.
In terms of renewable energy, there’s work to be done in Nevada as the US Energy Information Administration estimates less than 22% of the states generated electricity is derived from clean sources, such as solar and wind.
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