NV Energy, Great Basin sign agreement on power transmission line
A done deal just got even more done.
NV Energy and Great Basin Transmission signed an agreement to jointly construct and own the 500-kilovolt One Nevada Transmission Line (ON Line) in eastern Nevada. The 235-mile line will run from Ely to NV Energy’s Harry Allen Generating Station in Apex.
The two companies had proposed separate transmission lines, but announced in January that they’d combine efforts on the $510 million project. They’ll finance ON Line using stimulus funds distributed through the Western Area Power Administration, a government agency that markets and delivers energy in 15 states.
The agreement is subject to final approval by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, though the state utilities commission approved ON Line in July based on the project’s inclusion in NV Energy’s integrated-resource plan.
NV Energy will own 25 percent of ON Line, while Great Basin Transmission, a subsidiary of New York transmission developer LS Power, will own the remainder of the project.
The line will link NV Energy’s northern and southern grids for the first time and allow power-sharing between the two halves of the state. It also will connect the utility to renewable energy generated in remote areas of Nevada.
Construction of ON Line is scheduled to begin in late 2010, with completion set for 2012. The building process will create about 400 jobs.
Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512.