Vote delayed on solar plant

Dan Kulin

Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2003 | 9:27 a.m.

Plans for a solar-power plant in Boulder City have hit a snag, but city and company officials say they expect the project will still go forward.

The City Council on Tuesday postponed a vote on a proposed lease of 350 acres in the Eldorado Valley to Solargenix, a Raleigh, N.C.-based company that plans to use the land for a 50-megawatt solar power plant.

Solargenix Western Area Manager Gary Bailey said the company wants 400 acres.

City Manager John Sullard said the increase in the amount of land Solargenix wants will affect the lease price.

Bailey and Sullard said they expect a revised lease agreement will be ready for the council in time to be considered Sept. 9.

Bailey said the delay should not hurt the project, and Mayor Bob Ferraro said he still thought the project would happen.

In the earlier version of the lease, Solargenix was to pay the city $550,000 in each of the first eight years the plant is in operation. Then annual increases would raise the rent to a minimum of about $620,000 annually for the last 20 years of the 40-year agreement.

The proposed lease also stated that after 20 years in operation, Solargenix would have to give Boulder City 10,000 megawatts of electricity a year for eight years or pay the city $4 million.

Bailey said the company has withdrawn its request for an option to lease additional land in the valley.

Bailey said he still hopes to begin construction of the plant in October, and have the plant producing electricity in March 2005.

The facility, which Bailey said could cost more than $120 million, would use parabolic mirrors to focus heat on a glass tube filled with a special liquid that can stand temperatures above 700 degrees. The fluid is used to create steam, which turns a turbine to create electricity, Bailey said.

The Boulder City plant would create 50 megawatts of electricity, or enough for 50,000 homes. Solargenix already has 20-year contracts with Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power for the electricity, Bailey said.