• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Blog Home
  • Topics
    • Keystone Press Releases
    • Politics and Government
    • Legislation
    • Nevada News
    • Tourism & Gaming
    • Rural Nevada
    • Business
    • Opinion
  • Membership
  • Contact Us
  • About Keystone Nevada

Keystone Nevada Korner

Welcome to The Keystone Korner The Official Blog of Keystone Nevada

Home » NV Energy reveals $827M plan to meet demand, climate goals

NV Energy reveals $827M plan to meet demand, climate goals

December 18, 2022 by Pauline Lee

by Sean Hemmersmeier, Las Vegas Review-Journal, December 17, 2022

On the heels of announcing rate increases next year for Southern Nevadans, NV Energy is proposing a more than $800 million plan to advance the state’s energy independence.

It’s a move that could, in the short term, further increase customer rates before the plan’s potentially cost-saving benefits kick in for them.

NV Energy CEO Doug Cannon said while the utility will face significant upfront costs to implement its plan, the long-term benefits for Nevadans will be worth it.

“In the long term, this will save our customers money,” Cannon said. “It will help reduce fuel costs. It will reduce purchase power costs, and it will also help us control costs associated with what have historically been market energy purchases.”

The $827 million plan, filed Nov. 30 with the Public Utilities Commission, will help increase Nevada’s energy supply in June, July and August — the hottest months of the year — when customer demand and the price for energy peaks, and it will also help the company meet the state’s climate goals.

The utility said it will add energy and storage capacity that will be operational by the summer of 2024 and 2025, as well as make upgrades to its transmission system.

This includes building a 200-megawatt battery storage system on the site of the North Valmy Generating Station, a coal-fired power station in Humboldt County that is set to close by 2025. Cannon said the costs are estimated to be $466 million with $8 million in transmission costs, or the price to install transmission lines to deliver electricity.

An additional 440 megawatts of natural gas-powered turbines will be built at the Silverhawk Generating Station in North Las Vegas, which has a projected price tag of $333 million with an additional $20 million in transmission costs. It’s expected to be able to provide energy to 85,000 customers.

There are also plans to add two geothermal projects in Northern Nevada to the state’s energy supply. Reno-based Ormat Technologies has been contracted to operate one of the geothermal facilities and Eavor will operate the second location. The 140 megawatts provided by the geothermal projects is enough to serve 30,000 homes, according to NV Energy.

“(This plan) kind of indicates that NV Energy is also thinking about moving (toward) lower carbon forms of energy generation, and that’s the long-term goal for a lot of energy generation in this country,” said Simon Jowitt, UNLV associate professor of economic geology.

Supply and demand

Cannon said the plan is a response to energy shortages it has faced in recent years during the summer and points to California as a culprit.

“California no longer has enough resources within its own state to meet its needs,” he said. “And so it has to rely on a broader western energy market to import energy in order to meet those customer needs.”

This has reduced the amount of energy available to other western states, including Nevada.

Cannon said it typically purchases about 30 percent of the energy needed from the open market when there’s peak demand.

“That has worked fine for Nevada for more than a decade, but with California retiring its units, changing its transmission rules, that has really prompted us to say ‘We’ve got to do more to control the outcomes ourselves,’” he said.

NV Energy cited Sept. 6 — when the temperature in Las Vegas hit 110 degrees — as a recent example of the impact of high demand.

In its filing, the company said the energy market covering the western portion of North America saw a record demand of over 167,000 megawatts on Sept. 6 with the cost per megawatt reaching $1,900.

NV Energy stated in its filing that it expects demand during peak periods to increase by 12.7 percent over the next 10 years.

Cannon said the utility will pay for the cost of its projects but it will eventually recoup the expenditures through customer rates. He noted any rate changes would need to be approved by the PUC, and he expects the commission to only approve rate increases for “reasonable” aspects of the proposals.

However, its plan to increase the state’s power supply could reduce the amount of energy the utility needs to purchase from the open market.

It’s those open market purchases that drove NV Energy to increase its quarterly rates several times this year, citing the rising cost of natural gas. Last month, it announced customers in Southern Nevada will see an average increase of 14.4 percent starting in January.

Peter Kostes, communications director for the PUC, said the commission will create a procedural schedule, or timeline of hearings, in the next few weeks.

NV Energy said it anticipates a final decision to be made by mid-2023.

‘Balanced portfolio’

Cannon said the plan represent a “balanced portfolio” of new resources, since each project will serve a different need within NV Energy’s electricity supply.

The geothermal projects will count as renewable energy and help meet the state’s climate goals, which aims to get 50 percent of Nevada’s energy supply from renewable energy by 2030.

Jowitt said the battery storage project in Humboldt will also help meet renewable energy goals because it will allow NV Energy to store energy generated by solar and wind power, which could provide “flexibility” to the state’s electric grid.

“We’ve got a lot of things like solar generation capacity increasing here in the state, and that obviously runs during the day that doesn’t run during the night,” he said. “What that gives the state is the ability to not lose any of the energy it generates, and that’s crucial.”

The natural gas project won’t help Nevada reach its climate goals, but the utility only plans to use it when the supply from its renewable energy sources isn’t sufficient to meet the demand, according to Cannon. He said the proposed natural gas turbines will only run when needed, and the battery storage and geothermal projects it hopes to build will run constantly.

“This is just one small part of a bigger strategy that we are executing on in order to ultimately achieve the state’s objectives,” Cannon said.

Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at [email protected]. Follow @seanhemmers34 on Twitter.

Filed Under: Nevada News Tagged With: North Valmy Generating Station, NV Energy, Omat Technologies, Public Utilities Commission

Primary Sidebar

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
Bootleg Bistro
Bootleg Bistro Ad
SLLC_Keystone_Blog-Ad_300x500_10%-Off-Repairs_05.19.21
CIOServices Ad 300x500-100
BRH Keystone Ad JPEG
Willow_Manor
Keystone Corporation Nevada

News Topics

  • Keystone Press Releases
  • Politics and Government
  • Legislation
  • Nevada News
  • Tourism & Gaming
  • Rural Nevada
  • Business
  • Opinion

Rural Nevada

Weather may have slowed January sales

April 8, 2023 By Courtney Holland

By The Record Courier Staff, April 4, 2023 For the third month in a row, Douglas County merchants reported a decrease in taxable sales, though not … [Read More...] about Weather may have slowed January sales

30 new projects in Pahrump: Arby’s, Chipotle, Midas Muffler, 3 convenient stores & more

March 29, 2023 By Courtney Holland

By Robin Hebrock, Pahrump Valley Times, March 28, 2023 Business is booming in the Pahrump Valley, with dozens of new companies looking to bring … [Read More...] about 30 new projects in Pahrump: Arby’s, Chipotle, Midas Muffler, 3 convenient stores & more

UPS and AVK America plan to expand in Douglas County

March 19, 2023 By Courtney Holland

Staff Reports for The Record Courier, March 17, 2023 United Parcel Service plans to build a new 168,000 square foot building in Douglas County, … [Read More...] about UPS and AVK America plan to expand in Douglas County

Redwood Materials gets $2 billion federal loan for mega battery facility near Reno

February 12, 2023 By Pauline Lee

by Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal, February 9, 2023 Redwood Materials just secured a commitment from the federal government for a $2 billion … [Read More...] about Redwood Materials gets $2 billion federal loan for mega battery facility near Reno

Opinion

OPINION: A’s ‘Moneyball’ — should Nevada pay to play?

June 5, 2023 By Courtney Holland

By Pat Hickey, Reno Gazette-Journal, May 30, 2023 "Memo from the Middle" is an opinion column written by RGJ columnist Pat Hickey, a member of the … [Read More...] about OPINION: A’s ‘Moneyball’ — should Nevada pay to play?

OPINION: Our legislative process ‘broken’ by design

June 5, 2023 By Courtney Holland

By Michael Schaus, The Nevada Independent, June 1st, 2023 As the days count down to sine die, the usual lawless shenanigans of … [Read More...] about OPINION: Our legislative process ‘broken’ by design

Embracing School Choice: A Win-Win for Nevada’s Economy and Business Community

June 1, 2023 By Courtney Holland

A strong education system is a critical factor in attracting businesses and investments to Nevada By Courtney Holland, The Nevada Globe, June 1, … [Read More...] about Embracing School Choice: A Win-Win for Nevada’s Economy and Business Community

Tags

Adam Laxalt am post Build Back Better Business Business Columns Casinos & Gaming Catherine Cortez Masto Clark County Clark County School District COVID Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) Editorials Education Elon Musk employment Gov. Joe Lombardo Gov. Steve Sisolak Housing inflation Inside Gaming Joe Lombardo las vegas Local Local Las Vegas Local Nevada mc-business mc-local mc-news mc-opinion mc-sports Nevada News NPRI Opinion Opinion Columns PAID Politics and Government Real Estate Insider Roe v. Wade school choice Sports Tesla The Strip tourism Victor Joecks

Footer

Copyright © 2023 · Keystone Corporation - All Rights Reserved · Log in
Privacy Policy
By accessing this site, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use

The views, opinions and conclusions expressed by the authors of any article or post on the Keystone Korner are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Keystone Corporation or its officers and board members. Moreover, any reference to a person, party, product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Keystone Corporation or its officers and board members.