NV Energy, solar company to build in Southern Nevada

By Mary Manning

Tuesday, March 3, 2009 | 11:08 a.m.

NV Energy and a global solar company announced today that they have signed an agreement to build an advanced solar energy facility in Nye County in Southern Nevada.

NV Energy and Solar Millennium LLC, together with its joint venture partner MAN Ferrostaal Inc., today announced that they have entered into a memorandum of understanding for potential development of one or more solar power facilities in Southern Nevada.

The initial project is a 250-megawatt solar trough technology plant at a Nye County site that includes thermal storage, enabling the plant to produce energy after the sun goes down during hot summer months when electricity demand is at its peak.

Plans call for the project to be completed in 2013 or 2014, depending on obtaining permits, finances and other government approvals.

"Solar technologies have been making great strides in the last several years," said Michael Yackira, president and CEO of NV Energy. "It is now reasonable to believe that projects like this one will be capable of providing reliable power supply as part of a mix of resources that will include other types of renewable resources as well as clean and efficient traditional generation such as natural gas-fired plants. Such a project as the one being studied in Nye County would also provide a boost to the local economy."

Under the agreement, the parties are studying thermal storage technology, which is similar to that being used at several Solar Millennium projects in Spain. They are also undertaking transmission and environmental studies and reviewing financing options.

Christian Beltle, CEO of Solar Millennium AG, and Josef Eichhammer, CEO of the United States subsidiary, said solar thermal power can make a major contribution to renewable energy in Nevada and to the state's economy.

"We hope to find the support from the involved agencies to be able to permit the power plants such that we can start construction no later than 2010," Beltle said, referring to the Obama administration's economic stimulus bill.

"Having constructed more than 5,000 facilities around the world we are very much looking forward to building a CSP plant with NV Energy that will set a new benchmark for advanced solar energy in the U.S.," said Uwe T. Schmidt, CEO of MAN Ferrostaal Inc.

A decision to proceed with development and construction will be subject to this ongoing research and approval by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, the executives said.

"NV Energy is excited about being involved in storage technology that has long been talked about," Yackira said. "As a result, we expect that our company will remain at the forefront of utilizing renewable resources and technologies, in this case solar energy, for the benefit of our customers and the environment."