The Bureau of Land Management indicated they are close to approving the largest solar project in the country. NV Energy’s Gemini Solar-plus-storage project will be a 690 MW facility that will also include 380 MW of 4 hour battery storage.
The BLM released its final environmental impact statement for the project that is estimated to cost $1 billion dollars. The project is located on federal land near Las Vegas and will yield solar plus storage rates around $38.44 per megawatt hour under a 25 year contract. This will be the largest solar farm in the country overtaking a 579 MW solar farm in souther California.
"The proposed Gemini Solar Project would represent a significant increase in renewable energy capacity for Nevada and the West," BLM Southern Nevada District Manager Tim Smith said. "The BLM actively supports the Department of the Interior’s America First Energy Plan, an ‘all of the above’ strategy which supports energy development on public lands."
The project is part of NV Energy’s IRP that calls for 1,190 MW of solar and storage to be built in Nevada. Three other projects have been approved by the Nevada PUC and are expected to begin operation by 2024.
The rapid growth in large scale solar utility projects will have a significant economic impact for counties and towns near the projects. In a report published last year calculating the economic impact of Nevada’s rural renewables, TWW found that 29 rural renewable projects built from 2006 to 2017 resulted in:
$7.9 billion contributed to the Nevada economy;
12,056 Nevada jobs;
$947.3 million in wages to paid to Nevada employees; and
$152.3 million in state and local tax revenues benefiting Nevada.