Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Commission rejects $438 million plan to build solar plant in Moapa Valley

CARSON CITY – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is unhappy that state regulators rejected a plan by Nevada Power to build a $438 million solar energy plant on the Moapa Valley Paiute Reservation about 50 miles from Las Vegas.

The state Public Utilities Commission voted 2-1 Monday that Nevada Power failed to show the need for the plant. But the commission unanimously accepted the electric company's proposal to buy other natural gas companies.

Reid issued a statement Wednesday saying the PUC's refusal to approve the plan denies the Moapa Band of Paiutes the opportunity to improve their lives.

The project would have created hundreds of jobs in the area and its rejection is “is a setback for all Nevadans,” Reid said.

Nevada Power had been told by the legislature to submit plans to shut down the coal-burning Reid Gardner plant, accused of causing air pollution in Southern Nevada. Workers will be transferred to other jobs with Nevada Power.

The utility submitted a package deal for buying the natural gas companies to make up for the loss of power but also included the development of the Moapa solar plant.

Commissioner Rebecca Wagner authored an opinion to approve Nevada Power’s plan in full. But Commission Chairwoman Alaina Burtenshaw and Commissioner David Noble voted to remove the Moapa plant from the deal.

Burtenshaw said the utility failed to show that the cost of the Moapa plant was reasonable, would create the greatest opportunity for jobs and provide the best possible value for customers.

Noble was more emphatic, saying that 75 percent of the $438 million would be spent on out-of-state purchases such as solar panels. “Moapa’s costs are unnecessarily high for Nevada Power’s customers.”

Noble said he agreed with the state Bureau of Consumer Protection and the Southern Nevada Hotel Group that the project is not necessary at this point to fulfill the needs of Southern Nevada electricity users.

He said Nevada customers are already paying the highest rates in the region.

Burtenshaw and Noble agreed that the electric company could find a cheaper solution, like another natural gas plant.

Under the plan approved, the company will pay $130.8 million to buy the natural gas company LV Cogen in North Las Vegas and $15.8 million for natural gas company Sun Peak Generating Unit.

Wagner, in her argument to support the Moapa project, said the cost will be offset by a 30 percent federal tax credit, representing a $124.8 million saving if the facility is in operation by December 2016. She said the total plan “represents the best value to the electric customer.”

Before the commission’s decision, a number of people spoke in favor of the Moapa project.

The Nevada Conservation League, the Sierra Club and the Nevada Clean Affordable Reliable Energy all backed the Moapa reservation.

And tribal officials told the commission it would bring jobs and clean air to the area.

Nevada Power is required to phase out its coal fired generating units by 2019.

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