I'm having a hard time buying into the Chinese solar plant theory though. It doesn't add up and for several reasons.
1) If the Chinese wanted to spend 5 billion dollars on a solar farm they could afford to buy some cheap desert land.
2) Locating the plant near Laughlin makes sense. There was a coal fired power generating facility near Laughlin that was shot down in 2005. Locating a new facility near there gives access to the power grid without stringing new power lines.