Salt River Project recognized Desert Diamond Casino West Valley, 9431 W. Northern Ave., Glendale, among its Champions of Energy Efficiency selections from the business community.

SRP hosted its seventh annual Champions of Energy Efficiency Awards, where it recognizes companies that go above and beyond to conserve and be more sustainable.

Desert Diamond Casino West Valley earned Outstanding Achievement in New Construction honors. The award recognizes a new construction project that has achieved outstanding efficiency from the ground up.

“The new Desert Diamond Casino in Glendale is the culmination of many years of effort by the Tohono O’odham Nation and its Gaming Enterprise to create a brighter future for the Nation and Arizona,” SRP stated in a news release. “The values of the Nation and the Enterprise are reflected in its construction, including stewardship of the land that the Tohono O’odham have inhabited for thousands of years. From the start, it was important that the project take an environmentally conscious approach through energy efficiency and use of sustainable materials.”

Desert Diamond West Valley Casino celebrated the grand opening of its new, $400 million casino on Feb. 19, 2020. It is a 1.2 million-square-foot facility with a 75,000-square-foot casino floor, 1,000 slot machines, 48 blackjack tables, 36 poker tables, bingo and five restaurants..

With a savings of more than 3.5 million kilowatt-hours, SRP continued, Desert Diamond Casino West Valley reduced its peak demand by 271 kilowatts, which is enough energy to power 274 homes per year and equivalent to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from 544 vehicles.

By partnering with the community, SRP surpassed its energy efficiency goals for a ninth consecutive year. In the last year, the programs for both residential and commercial customers provided annual energy savings equal to 2.09 percent of SRP’s retail energy requirements.

That resulted in a savings of 641,058 megawatt-hours, which is equivalent to powering more than 36,000 homes for one year.