Feds Approve Ninth Public Solar Project

TONOPAH, Nev. — The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project has received approval from Department of the Interior. The facility, which will be located outside Tonopah in Nevada’s Nye County, is the ninth large-scale solar power facility approved by the Obama Administration as part of its push to develop renewable energy production on public lands.

 

“Crescent Dunes joins a host of renewable energy projects on public lands in the West that are opening a new chapter on how our nation is powered,” said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar when signing the Record of Decision. “Using American ingenuity, we are creating jobs, stimulating local economies and spurring a sustainable, clean energy industrial base that will strengthen our nation’s energy security.”

 

The Crescent Dunes project will produce 110 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 75,000 households, and feed 485,000 megawatt hours of electricity a year in to the Nevada grid. SolarReserve, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based developer, will build the facility on 2,250 acres administered by the Bureau of Land Management 13 miles northwest of Tonopah. Construction is slated to begin in mid-2011.

 

The BLM has approved six other renewable energy projects on public lands in Nevada — three solar, two geothermal and one wind — and a long-distance transmission line that will deliver that energy to consumers.

 

“These energy projects exemplify the collaborative partnerships we have developed to help achieve our common goals to protect our natural environment while utilizing America’s wealth of renewable energy resources,” said BLM Director Bob Abbey.

 

SolarReserve can qualify for grants in lieu of tax credits for up to 30 percent of the project’s eligible costs through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as well for loan guarantees to assist with construction from the Department of Energy. SolarReserve and Nevada energy provider NV Energy have signed a power purchase agreement to deliver the facility’s energy to consumers.

 

The plant will use concentrated solar thermal “power tower” technology, which uses mirror fields to focus solar energy on a tower receiver near the center of the array. Steam from boilers in the tower drives a turbine that generates the electricity.

 

Crescent Dunes will also have thermal energy storage capability to help during the state’s peak electricity demand periods, including evenings in summer, when solar projects without storage can no longer generate solar energy.

 

The BLM worked with state, federal and military agencies on the project, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Nevada Department of Wildlife, the US Air Force, as well as with the environmental and conservation communities.

 

To minimize environmental impact, the BLM opted for an alternative plan that reduced the project size from 7,680 acres to 2,250 acres, with a development footprint of 1,776 acres. The agency published the Notice of Availability for the final environmental impact statement in late November after a public review period.

 

“I want to thank all of our partners in the development of the Crescent Dunes Environmental Impact Statement and especially recognize the contributions of Nellis Air Force Base and the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, which analyzed several proposed project sites,” said Abbey. “By working together we were able to identify the optimal location for the facility and minimize operational impacts to Nellis and the Air Force’s testing mission.”

 

Nevada plans to achieve a 25 percent Renewable Portfolio Standard by 2015.