POWER September 2015 - 55

GENERATION TRANSITIONS
3. Renewables footprint. This map shows NV Energy's renewable energy sources, by
development stage, as of July 23, 2015. Courtesy: NV Energy
20
Winnemucca
4
Battle
Mountain
1
12
2
36 Reno
42 37
38 10
43 16
17 18
15
35
6
5 3
41
24
7
PROJECTS
Geothermal
1 Beowawe Power................................................................................ 17.7
2 Brady..................................................................................................... 24.0
3 Desert Peak......................................................................................... 25.0
4 Faulkner 1............................................................................................ 49.5
5 Galena 2............................................................................................... 13.0
6 Galena 3............................................................................................... 26.5
7 Homestretch..........................................................................................5.6
8 Jersey Valley........................................................................................ 22.5
9 McGinness Hills ................................................................................. 96.0
10 Richard Burdette Generation Facility ........................................ 26.0
11 Salt Wells.............................................................................................. 23.6
12 San Emidio.......................................................................................... 11.8
13 Soda Lake I.............................................................................................3.6
14 Soda Lake II......................................................................................... 19.5
15 Steamboat Hills ................................................................................. 14.6
16 Steamboat IA ........................................................................................2.0
17 Steamboat II ....................................................................................... 13.4
18 Steamboat III ...................................................................................... 13.4
19 Stillwater 2 .......................................................................................... 47.2
Stillwater 2 Photovoltaic Addition ............................................. 22.0
20 Tuscarora ............................................................................................. 32.0
Solar
21 Apex Nevada Solar........................................................................... 20.0
22 Boulder Solar....................................................................................100.0
23 Crescent Dunes ...............................................................................110.0
24 Fort Churchill Solar Array............................................................... 18.0
25 Las Vegas Valley Water District (Six Projects) .............................3.0
26 Mountain View Solar ....................................................................... 20.0
27 Nellis AFB Solar Star......................................................................... 13.2
28 Nellis Solar Array II............................................................................ 15.0
29 Nevada Solar One............................................................................. 69.0
30 Searchlight 1........................................................................................ 17.5
31 Silver State Solar North .................................................................. 52.0
32 Spectrum Nevada Solar.................................................................. 30.0
33 Switch Station..................................................................................100.0
Biomass / Methane
34 Apex Landfill Energy ....................................................................... 12.0
35 Lockwood Renewable Energy Facility .........................................3.2
36 Sierra Pacific Industries................................................................... 10.0
37 Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility..........................0.8
Hydro
38 Fleish ........................................................................................................2.3
39 Hooper ....................................................................................................0.8
40 Hoover Dam (Excluded from Renewable Portfolio Standard) .......235.2
41 Truckee Carson Irrigation District..................................................5.0
42 Verdi .........................................................................................................2.2
43 Washoe....................................................................................................2.2
Waste Heat Recovery
44 Goodsprings Energy Recovery Station........................................7.5
Wind
45 Spring Valley Wind .........................................................................151.8
TOTAL ..................................................................................1,509.6
Updated 07-23-2015
atomic bomb test site near Las Vegas, now
part of the U.S. Department of Energy. In
1956, the company built a 64-mile transmission
line to serve the test site and the AEC's
associated activities.
Attempting to diversify its gas-dependent
generation, in 1963, the company (now named
Nevada Power to reflect its increasing penetration
in the state) began building the 100MW
Reid Gardner coal-fired generating plant,
named for the executive who had led the company
for nine years and died that year.
The plant opened in 1965, the first coalfired
unit in the state, burning coal from
mines in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. The
company added two more 100-MW units in
1968 and 1976, and a 257-MW unit in 1983.
That put the company in a good position
as the 1970s and 1980s were dominated by
inflation, high interest rates, consumer handwringing,
and increases in electricity rates
across the country. Coal was a low-cost hedge.
During the 1970s, Nevada Power was largely
immune from those forces and enjoyed conSeptember
2015 | POWER
tinued growth. Nevada Power merged with
Sierra Pacific Resources, which served the
hard-rock mining area in the northern part
of the state and the Reno resort area around
Lake Tahoe in 1999 to become NV Energy.
As a result of 21st-Century environmental
and cultural disputes over coal generation
and Reid Gardner- involving a local Indian
tribe, environmental groups, and a powerful
politician in Washington-NV Energy reluctantly
shut down the three original units and
will close the 257-MW plant at the end of
2017 (see sidebar).
Gas Supporting Renewables
Today, NV Energy generates by far the largest
amount of its electricity from natural gas. In
southern Nevada, the company has 4,365 MW
of gas-fired capacity, including baseload and
intermediate combined cycle units and simple
cycle units for peaking. It also has 257 MW
of coal-fired capacity left from Reid Gardner,
set to close in 2017 and 255 MW (11%) of the
large, multiple-owner Navajo Generating Plant
www.powermag.com
9
19
13
14
11
Ely
One Nevada
NAMEPLATE MEGAWATTS
Transmission Line
Intertie
23 Tonopah
45
8
Elko
39
in Page, Ariz., whose fate is uncertain. In Northern
Nevada, the company has 1,111-MW of gas
capacity, and 522 MW in coal generation.
The company's renewable portfolio (Figure
3) includes some 800 MW of solar (including
the 100 MW Solar Switch project),
mostly under development; about 385 MW
of geothermal generation in place, largely
around the Reno area, with another 150 MW
of geothermal projects in process; 235 MW
from Hoover Dam (which doesn't count
against its state renewable goal); and 152
MW of wind under development.
The Reid Gardner closure agreement,
SOLAR
GEOTHERMAL
WIND
BIOMASS
METHANE
HYDRO
WASTE HEAT RECOVERY
In Operation
Pending Regulatory Approval
Under Construction
which has the company decommissioning
units while continuing to operate the largest
unit, is the tangible symbol of NV Energy's
retreat from coal. A proposed 1,500-MW Ely
Energy Center, offered in the early 2000s as
a new coal project, fell victim to opposition
from environmental groups and, again, Harry
Reid, who was pushing for renewable power.
The company announced in early 2009 that it
would shelve the project.
Today, NV Energy is embarked upon a
33
21
26
Las Vegas
25
44
31
27 32
28
34
29 22
30
40
renewables-first strategy, backed by its muscular
gas-fired fleet of generating units, to
which it is also adding units. The company
has made more than a billion-dollar commitment
to utility-scale solar (while experiencing
a boom in rooftop solar).
Next Moves
NV Energy also has its eye on California's
expanding Energy Imbalance Market. Geraghty
said his company will join the market
this fall. So far, he said, the market " is for
multi-utility balancing purposes only. " But it
could evolve into a broad multi-state market
that looks like the PJM Interconnection or the
Midcontinent Independent System Operator
(MISO). The imbalance market began in November
2014 with transactions between the
ISO and Berkshire Hathaway's PacifiCorp,
headquartered in Portland, Ore. Puget Sound
Energy of Bellevue, Wash., and Arizona Public
Service of Phoenix are scheduled to join
the market in October 2016.
As for the future of NV Energy's generating
fleet, look for more renewables and
natural gas. Is there a future for coal-fired
power in Nevada? " Coal has got zero future
in Nevada, " said Geraghty, who grew up in
coal-centric western Pennsylvania, " and not
much future in the rest of the country. " What
about nuclear? " No future in Nevada, " he
said. " That's largely driven by water, " as the
region is gripped by a long-running drought
that could, some fear, be only the opening act
for a regional mega-drought. ■
-Kennedy Maize is a long-time energy
journalist and frequent contributor to
POWER.
55

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POWER September 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER September 2015