Water District OKs development of solar power plant

Kevin Rademacher

Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2004 | 10:59 a.m.

The Las Vegas Valley Water District Board of Directors this morning approved a $22.6 million contract for the development and construction of a 3.1-megawatt solar energy plant.

The system will be one of the largest built by a public agency in the United States, Water District officials said.

The plant will be built by Berkeley, Calif.-based PowerLight Corp. at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2005.

"Power is very important to pumping water," said Tom Minwegen, deputy general manager for the Water District. "In Southern Nevada solar power is a rich natural resource."

While the cost of building solar generation remains higher than traditional fossil-fuel-generated power, Minwegen said that beginning to develop such resources now will ultimately create a more cost-effective solar power market in the future.

"In time it definitely will be (cost-effective)," he said. "But it is going to take some of these pioneer projects."

The use of solar power also will insulate the water district from a volatile natural gas market that is affecting much of Southern Nevada's electric power.

"We think it's very much an asset in that respect," Minwegen said, adding that the power generated by the solar project will offset power that would have otherwise been purchased from other producers, most likely through gas-fired power plants.

One megawatt is estimated to be enough power to run 750 homes.

Nevada Power Co. also will benefit from the project through a 20-year contract to buy so-called renewable energy credits from the Water District. Over the life of the contract, Nevada Power will pay about $20 million to the Water District for the credits.

Those credits will be used to meet the state's Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards created by the 2001 Legislature. Those standards require Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power Co. in Reno to acquire an increasing percentage of their power from renewable sources, reaching 15 percent by 2013.

Both utilities failed to meet their requirements this year.

"It's a partnership between us and the Las Vegas Valley Water District to create a new renewable energy resource," said Roberto Denis, Nevada Power's vice president for energy supply.

The state Public Utilities Commission must still approve Nevada Power's contract for the purchase of the renewable energy credits.

"I think that they would welcome the contract," Denis said.