A request to approve a new 100 megawatt solar energy project, as well as a request to close one of the utility’s coal-fired power plants 10 months earlier than expected, has been filed by NV Energy as part of its most recent Emissions Reduction and Capacity Replacement second amendment filing.
To provide more details, the coal-fired power plant that the Nevada utility giant wants to close early is the 257 megawatt (MW) Reid Gardner Generation Station. The new 100 MW Boulder City solar photovoltaic (PV) project would possess an average lifetime cost of electricity of around $0.04 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), according to the filing, which is the lowest price we’ve seen for a US solar farm, and is well below the price of electricity from a new coal, nuclear, or natural gas power plant.
“At an average cost of energy for the life of the project at approximately four cents per kilowatt-hour, this is one of the lowest-cost solar projects in the nation,” stated NV Energy’s senior vice president of energy supply, Kevin Geraghty. “And, we are very pleased with the fact that Techren has already signed a work-site agreement with local unions 357 and 396 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.”
NV Energy has reportedly already signed a 25-year power-purchase-agreement (PPA) with Techren Solar, following the firm’s selection through a Request for Proposals (RfP) issued earlier this year by the utility company.
The recent filing is apparently requesting that the PUC make its final decision on the potential Eldorado Valley solar PV project by the end of 2016. If approved, the project is currently expected to be operational by the end of 2018.
Naturally, this story is just one example of the massive shift from coal power to renewable energy.
Image via NV Energy
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