ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. (AP) - County commissioners in southwest Wyoming have granted a conditional-use permit to build the first major commercial solar energy project in the state.

The Rock Springs Rocket-Miner reports the Sweetwater County Commission voted Tuesday to allow Sweetwater Solar LLC to move forward with the 80-megawatt solar farm, which will generate enough electricity for 12,000 homes.

The project area of solar panels, roads, power lines and other facilities would encompass about a square mile (2.6 sq. kilometers) of public land. Sweetwater Solar is a subsidiary of the large South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group.

Other solar installations in Wyoming feed electricity onto the grid, but none is close to this big.

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Information from: Rock Springs (Wyo.) Rocket-Miner, http://www.rocketminer.com

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