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Tonopah solar project gets Energy Department help
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LAS VEGAS BUSINESS PRESS
Updated: May 20, 2011 | 9:17 a.m.
Development of a commercial solar power plant outside of Tonopah that is expected to create more than 600 construction jobs will be backed by a $737 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced Thursday.
The 110-megawatt Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project will create 4,000 direct and indirect jobs nationwide to "supply the facility with the pieces and parts it needs," said Kevin Smith, CEO of project developer SolarReserve.
The facility will have 50 employees on-site, and is expected to generate $40 million in tax revenues in its first decade of operation.
The Department of Energy's renewable energy loan guarantee program is providing the conditional guarantee. The program, which was part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, was on the chopping block for fiscal year 2011, but was rescued with a compromise that said projects will only be backed if they can get off the ground by Sept. 30.
NV Energy inked a 25-year purchase agreement with Los-Angeles based SolarReserve in 2009 to buy electricity from the plant, which is expected to break ground by mid-July or early August, Smith said.
According to numbers obtained by the Review-Journal last year, NV Energy has agreed to pay 13.5 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity generated by the Tonopah plant.
That number is more than triple the 4 cents per kilowatt hour that the utility company has paid for wholesale power, which largely comes from natural-gas generation, in recent years.
Crescent Dunes is expected to produce 500,000 megawatt hours annually. Secretary Chu said the facility will be able to power 32,000 homes during peak electricity hours.
Reid touted the project's technology and scope .
"I don't think people realize how big this project is," he said.
Crescent Dunes will use mirrors to focus the sun's rays on a 640-foot-tall solar tower. Molten salt will capture heat from the reflected sunlight, running through the tower into storage tanks. The facility's storage capability will enable utilities to tap solar power at night.
Smith said SolarReserve is lining up contractors and finalizing the project's loan documents before launching this summer.
Contact reporter Caitlin McGarry at cmcgarry@lvbusinesspress.com or 702-387-5273.
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TRIPLE THE COST??? *** Thank a Democrat.
Even if Solar stays at the same price over the next 25 years (ne replacement expenses, Employee Raises, etc.. and a 6% ammual increase for Natural Gas (likely), it would still be over 20 years before prices would be comparable. Am I missing something? or does thi slook like a project far ahead of its time. Maybe we should just give the money to Homeowners for solar and take all the middlemen out of it. Of course i'd hate to see our electic bill is NV Energy were no longer needed.
This is great news for Nevada. This type of project is where our future lies. It's a crucial step toward diversifying our economy. We can no longer put our eggs in a basket that holds only tourism and construction.
Triple the cost and subsidized to boot! Whhoohoo! We're on a bus to "rational" energy prices (as promised!!!) brought to you by Obama/Pelosi and Reid.. there used to be a saying "you get what you pay for..." now you get what you pay for (twice or three times) as long as it is approved by the whackos in Washington DC
Aimhigh, I believe you are aiming low when compared to what some of the other projects will receive and don't forget the Grants and Subsidies that make all this possible.
Let me get this straight. NV Energy is paying 3 times per kilowatt hour for power that still needs to be transmitted hundreds of miles along power lines that do NOT exist! How much is that going to cost us rate payers? 5 times, 6 times existing kilowatt hour rates? Is it worth only 50 ongoing jobs? These huge energy rate increases will put more people on the bread lines!