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July 3, 2023
By Sean
Hemmersmeier Special to the Pahrump Valley Times
NV Energy spends millions for solar development in
Nevada desert
![](images/images_07_06_2023/17955485_web1_ETL_PROYECTOS_060723_1%20copy.jpg)
FILE PHOTO More desert land is planned to be used
for solar farms by NV Energy, as the utility was the winning bidder of
two parcels of land at a federal auction this week. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las
Vegas Review-Journal) @bizutesfaye
More desert land is planned to be used for solar
farms by NV Energy, as the utility was the winning bidder for two
parcels at a federal auction this week.
The utility’s winning bids — giving NV Energy the right to develop on,
but not own, the land — totaled $81.9 million for two parcels,
encompassing 7,226 acres in Nye County. The parcels, which are
controlled by the Bureau of Land Management, are located within the
Amargosa Valley solar energy zone, about 11 miles south of the town of
Beatty and next to U.S. Highway 95, according to a news release from
the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The land will help NV Energy meet the state goal of generating 50
percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030, Meghin Delaney,
media relations manager for NV Energy, said. She said the utility took
part in the auction since it’s challenging to find land suitable for
large-scale solar development in Nevada.
“Approximately 80 percent of land in Nevada is federally owned, which
limits the amount of opportunity to find suitable land that is large
enough for utility development while having limited impacts on
cultural and natural resources,” Delaney said in an emailed statement.
There is a lot of interest in developing utility-scale energy projects
on federal land in Nevada, as the BLM is currently considering over 30
proposed developments in the state, according to a BLM spokesperson.
Amargosa officials were hopeful that NV Energy would win the bid over
would-be out-of-state developers.
“My prayer, literally, is that they win,” Amargosa Town Advisory Board
Chair Carolyn Allen said at a town meeting in Beatty in June, ahead of
the auction.
Allen said that NV Energy was the only developer that had engaged in
talks with the community about their plans and she liked that any
power generated by the project would stay in the state.
“This is energy for Nevada,” she said, “And I prefer to work with
somebody in Nevada.”
The solar energy zone in the Amargosa Valley was one of five zones in
Nevada designated by the BLM in 2012 as areas “well suited” for
utility-scale solar production. The BLM is working on updating its
designations for solar energy zones and could add more zones to Nevada
and other states, according to the news release.
NV Energy is in the process of developing timelines for building solar
farms on the new parcels but construction could be “accelerated”
compared to other energy projects located on BLM land since the
property is in a solar energy zone, Delaney said.
The utility estimates solar farms on these parcels could add one
gigawatt of energy to its energy load. The U.S. Department of Energy
estimates that one gigawatt can power 100 million LED light bulbs.
NV Energy would eventually recover the $81.9 million it spent on the
parcels from Nevada ratepayers. The utility plans to recover the costs
of securing the land once development on the parcels begins, Delaney
said.
Other parcels at auction
Besides the land leased by NV Energy for development, two other
entities picked up smaller parcels, both in the Amargosa Desert but
outside of the Amargosa Valley solar energy zone.
NextEra Energy Resources paid $21 million to lease a 10,129-acre
parcel and Silver Star Solar paid $2.3 million for a 6,320-acre
parcel. Since both of these parcels are outside the solar energy zone
the winning bidders will need to submit a right-of-way application and
development plan to the BLM.
The Department of the Interior touted the lease of the four parcels,
totaling $105.2 million, as a win for renewable energy development
since the millions placed in bids show demand to get projects started
and a step forward for placing renewable energy generation on public
lands.
“This record-breaking auction for solar energy development is further
evidence that the demand for clean energy has never been greater,”
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement. “The technological
advances, increased interest, cost-effectiveness, and tremendous
economic potential make these projects a reliable path for
diversifying our nation’s energy portfolio.”
It is estimated that once developed, all four parcels of land could
support the addition of three gigawatts to the energy grid.
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