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Green light for 100MW solar thermal plant in Nevada

Regulators in Nevada have given the go-ahead to utility NV Energy to buy power from a 100-megawatt solar thermal power plant to be built in the state.

California-based developer SolarReserve is planning the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project for the town of Tonopah, in Nye County.

Yesterday, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada approved the 25-year power purchase agreement for the sale of electricity from the facility.

SolarReserve’s technology uses molten salt to transfer and store heat energy collected from the sun using thousands of mirrors. The mirrors, known as heliostats, focus the sunlight on a central tower, where the heat is used to generate electricity via a steam generator.

Because the molten salt retains its heat, the technology means 10 hours of energy can be stored by the system, allowing for generation during cloudy periods, or part way through the night.

Jobs

Kevin Smith, CEO of Santa Monica-based SolarReserve, said the Commission’s approval for the power deal meant his company could now move forward with the project. He said: “Solar energy, and particularly solar energy with thermal storage, can help meet Nevada’s renewable energy objectives while at the same time stimulate the economy by creating solid jobs in the state.”

When completed, the Crescent Dunes solar project is expected to supply approximately 480,000 megawatt-hours of renewable electricity – enough to power up to 75,000 homes.

The project still requires completion of its environmental permitting, but looks likely to break ground by the end of 2010, creating up to 450 jobs during its two-year construction period.

SolarReserve’s technology is based on a 10MW pilot plant developed during the 1990s by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a division of United Technologies Corporation.