The 500,000kV, 600MW line connects the Harry Allen Generating Station with the Robinson Summit Substation near Ely, and is expected to serve 11 separate renewable energy projects in Nevada, enhancing overall energy-sharing efficiencies of NV Energy’s ten generating stations.
NV Energy chief executive officer Michael Yackira said the On Line will play a vital role in the development of renewable energy that will benefit the company’s customers.
”This project also helps to strengthen our reliability, as well as provide important dispatch capabilities that will help our customers save on energy," Yackira added.
NV Energy president Paul Caudill said, "The development of this important transmission asset is an indicator of NV Energy’s desire to find new and better ways to serve our customers, while preserving the environment and natural habitat that make Nevada such a special place."
Nevada Senator Harry Reid said, "This vital project will deliver hundreds of megawatts of clean renewable energy to the grid.”
The project took three years for completion, and was backed by a $343m loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy (DOE).
Great Basin Transmission South, an affiliate of LS Power, owns 75% of the line, while the remaining 25% undivided ownership is held by NV Energy, which also has rights to 100% of the line’s initial capacity until LS Power completes other potential project phases, collectively known as the Southwest Intertie Project (SWIP).
