The project is planned to be constructed in Clark County on the Moapa River Indian Reservation, approximately 48km north of Las Vegas
Image: The Southern Big Horn Solar Centre will have an annual production capacity of more than 1billion kWh. Photo: Courtesy of Sabine van Erp from Pixabay.
NV Energy has selected 8minute Solar Energy, a US-based solar and storage developer, to develop the Southern Bighorn Solar & Storage Centre in Nevada.
The Southern Bighorn Solar & Storage Centre including a 475MW-dc solar array with 540MWh of Li-Ion battery energy storage is set to be the largest storage integrated solar project in Nevada and the US.
The project is planned to be constructed in Clark County on the Moapa River Indian Reservation, approximately 48km north of Las Vegas.
NV Energy president and CEO Doug Cannon said: “We are delighted to be working with 8minute again to bring low-cost clean solar power and energy storage to our customers in Nevada.
“We’re committed to solar and clean energy that reduces costs for our customers. The Southern Bighorn Solar Plus Storage Center helps us to continue to reduce carbon emissions, to diversify our state’s electricity generation portfolio and do so at industry-leading low costs.”
Construction on Southern Bighorn project is expected to begin in mid-2022
The construction at the project is expected to start in mid-2022, subject to the final approval by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada.
The Southern Bighorn Solar & Storage Centre will come up on a non-agricultural land using environmentally sensitive construction near a retired coal plant.
Once completed, the Southern Big Horn Solar Centre will have an annual production capacity of more than 1billion kWh, which is enough to power more than 180,000 homes.
The development and construction phases of the project are also expected to create well over 600 jobs on the Moapa Indian River Reservation within Clark County. Upon completion, it will be the fourth solar project developed on the Moapa River Indian Reservation.
8minute Solar Energy president and CEO Tom Buttgenbach said: “We’re proud to be working with NV Energy and the Moapa Band of Paiutes on this innovative project to deliver low-cost dispatchable clean power for Nevada’s residents and businesses. This is our second project working with them both, and together we’ve been able to deliver fantastic value once again.
“Southern Bighorn will deliver clean power at an average price (including Time of Delivery Adjustments) of about $35 per MWh, which is below the cost of fossil fuel based generation. For a solar PV plant, incorporating a 540MWh Li-Ion battery system, this is truly industry leading. Nevada is becoming a solar leader and, with 900MW of solar projects, 8minute is proud to be the state’s number one solar provider.”