‘NIPTON, Calif. \u2014 The long-promised solar building boom in the desert Southwest is finally under way. Here in the Mojave Desert, a dice throw away from the Nevada border, giant road graders and a small army of laborers began turning the dirt for BrightSource Energy\u2019s $2 billion Ivanpah project, the first large-scale solar thermal power plant to be built in the United States in two decades.’<\/p>\n