NV Energy to add 3 solar projects to Southern Nevada
NV Energy received approval from state regulators to add three solar projects in Southern Nevada that should generate enough electricity to power 230,000 homes.
On Wednesday, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada approved NV Energy’s Integrated Resource Plan, which would add 1,190 megawatts of solar renewable energy projects to the state, as well as an additional 590 megawatts of energy storage capacity.
The projects join NV Energy’s 57 other geothermal, solar, hydro, wind, biomass and supported rooftop solar projects that are either in service or under development.
The Arrow Canyon Solar Project, a 200-megawatt solar photovoltaic project with a 75-megawatt battery storage system, is set to be located 20 miles northeast of Las Vegas on the Moapa Band of Paiutes Indian Reservation. A second project — the Southern Bighorn Solar & Storage Center, is a 300-megawatt solar array with a 135-megawatt Li-Ion battery energy storage system — is set to be built on the Moapa River Indian Reservation about 30 miles north of Las Vegas. And the Gemini Solar and Battery Storage Project, a 690-megawatt solar photovoltaic array with a 380-megawatt AC battery storage system, is set to be built on about 7,100 acres of federally owned land 25 miles northeast of Las Vegas.
The projects are expected to create more than 3,000 construction jobs using union labor, NV Energy said in a statement Wednesday. They are expected to be completed and serving customers by Jan. 1, 2024.
“Today’s decision brings the environmental and price benefits of low-cost solar energy to our customers — and the addition of energy storage capabilities allows us to extend the benefits of renewable energy to times when the sun is not shining,” Doug Cannon, president and CEO of NV Energy, said in the statement.
According to the statement, the projects will allow the utility to meet its commitment to double its renewable energy and bring it one step closer to complying with Senate Bill 358. That bill, signed into law by Gov. Steve Sisolak in April, requires Nevada energy providers to get at least half of their energy from renewable resources by 2030.
Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.
