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Federal loan guarantee approved for One Nevada transmission line
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
An important loan guarantee has come through for a major Nevada power project.
Electric-transmission developer LS Power and local power utility NV Energy said Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Energy has granted a $363 million loan guarantee that will allow the two companies to begin developing their One Nevada transmission line, or ON Line.
Michael Yackira, president and chief executive officer of NV Energy, said the start of construction on the power line is "imminent."
ON Line will cost $500 million to build. The remainder of the funding will come from equity and debt from NV Energy. NV Energy will lease all of the line's 600-megawatt capacity, which it plans to use to link its southern and northern transmission grids and to carry renewable power generated in rural areas to urban markets.
The line will run 235 miles from NV Energy's Harry Allen generating station near Apex to its Robinson Summit substation near Ely.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a press conference announcing the deal that ON Line would bring hundreds of construction jobs to the Silver State in the near term, and thousands of jobs in the long run, as it makes more renewable-energy projects possible for both Nevada and California markets.
"We need to keep in mind that power-hungry California has a requirement on the books that by 2020, one-third of all of its energy has to come from renewable sources," Reid said.
"They've acknowledged that they can't meet those goals with what they produce. So there's a built-in market right next door to us." Reid also said.
ON Line is scheduled for completion in early 2013.
Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison @reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512.
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@audit - not true on geothermal. Existing geo not close to 200 MW. Developers all claimed large MW values, but of the ones that actually got built, they produced much much much less than what developers said they would. Same for future geo. If they get built, and that is a big if, since many have been proposed but never actually built, they too will likely be much fewer MW than expected. That's what developers do - they promise the moon and never deliver. Only one who believes them is Dingy Harry, since naive people believe it and it makes it look like he is doing something to get re-elected.
Is that not the same exact path that another utility wants to use to suck water from central Nevada???? Makes you wonder if all the right questions are being asked...
"Joe.Homeboy wrote on February 15, 2011 08:09 PM: Where is the Dept of Energy getting the money from?"
Instead of engaging in wild, paranoid right-wing speculation, you tell us, Joe.Homeboy. You tell us!
A cute little game of the AM radio psychotalkers is to ask a question, pretending that the answer is nefarious and that their political opponents are trying to hide something.
Joe.Homeboy. Have you no honor?
Attention mrability. Get some sleep.
@ audit: Thanks for the input. What kind of storage technology does the solar capacity use? Is that 100MW of solar generating capacity IF the sun shines? Or does it take into account the actual amount of sunshine in the area? For those who haven't ever been there, it can get pretty cloudy and cold in northern Nevada during the winter.
Where is the Dept of Energy getting the money from? A loan guarantee? I see Dingy Harry's fingerprints on this and that means union guaranteed jobs. Dingy will be getting kick back campaign dollars from his union croonies. More money down the rat hole! Another green energy boondoggle!
Nevada Power, d/b/a NV Energy has over 200 MW of operating geothermal in northern Nevada with an additional 200 + Mw of geothermal under development. Geothermal = 24/7 delivery.
Nevada Power has an additional 100 MW of solar with storage
under development that will use the new transmission line.
this land is only sutible for bodies
lol
This could be a very good thing for Nevada. Absolutely. But as yet I have seen no evidence whatsoever that anyone has ever looked at the actual cost of installing renewable energy farms in all that "empty" land in northern Nevada, the actual environmental impacts, and how much electricity they will actually be able to produce. Just because the land is "empty" doesn't necessarily mean it is suitable for producing solar or wind energy. It would be a shame to rush to build all these facilities, only to discover AFTER they are built that they can't make enough electricity to pay for themselves.