Nevada approves $333 million natural gas plant as historic drought pressures state’s power grid
Looking east to the Tracy Power Plant, a natural gas and oil-fired power plant owned and operated by Sierra Pacific Power, located near Interstate 80 and the Truckee River between Reno and Fernley, Nevada.
Neil Gilham | Moment | Getty Images
Nevada’s largest electricity provider has been approved for a $333 million project to develop a natural gas plant north of Las Vegas, as extreme drought conditions put mounting pressure on the region’s power grid.
Nevada’s Public Utilities Commission approved the plan, which involves two natural gas-fired turbines designed to address peak electricity demand during hot summer months and prolonged wildfire seasons. The developer, NV Energy, expects the turbines to be operational by July 2024.
The western U.S is in the midst of a historic megadrought, depleting water levels at the Colorado River’s reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Declining reservoir supply has prompted concerns over the future of hydroelectric power generation at the river’s Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam.
Natural gas presents its own challenges. Some environmental groups have argued that a new plant will jeopardize Nevada’s climate and clean energy agenda. The state has committed to a carbon-free power grid by 2050 and hasn’t built a new natural gas plant in over a decade.
More than two-thirds of Nevada’s electricity is produced by natural gas-fired power plants, while renewables comprise most of the rest, according to the state’s energy report.
The relatively arid desert southwest is viewed at 33,000 feet on May 19, 2022, over Lake Mead, NV.
George Rose | Getty Images
Angelyn Tabalba, a spokesperson for the Nevada Conservation League, said in a statement that the plan is shortsighted and would have long-term consequences for the environment and the state’s clean energy goals.
“For a state considered to be a clean energy leader, this decision sends the wrong message to other energy companies and undermines the progress that we have made towards a cleaner, more sustainable future,” Tabalba said.
The primary component of natural gas is methane, which is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide but doesn’t last as long in the atmosphere before it breaks down. Scientists have said that limiting methane is necessary to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.
However, NV Energy has said that while it will continue to burn natural gas, the plan doesn’t alter the company’s clean energy goals or its commitment to Nevada’s carbon-free power grid target.
NV Energy claims the turbines have minimal greenhouse gas emissions, since the units will run only in the hotter summer months and will be limited to operating for about 700 hours each year. The turbines will be located at the company’s Silverhawk Generating Station gas plant north of Las Vegas.
WATCH: Eliminating nuclear energy has led to increase in countries’ gas plants
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China just connected its largest single-capacity solar farm built on a former coal mining area, which is in the Gobi Desert, to the grid.
The Mengxi Blue Ocean Photovoltaic Power Station, located in Otog Front Banner, Ordos, Inner Mongolia, came online on November 5. With a massive installed capacity of 3 gigawatts (GW) and over 5.9 million solar panels, the plant will generate around 5.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually – enough to power 2 million households.
This huge project will save about 1.71 million tons of standard coal each year and cut carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 4.7 million tons, which is equivalent to planting 62,700 hectares (around 155,000 acres) of trees.
Built on coal mining subsidence land, Mengxi Blue Ocean is part of China’s national West-East Electricity Transfer Project, which brings investment and development to western China west while supplying the growing need for electricity in the eastern provinces.
The solar farm includes the country’s first large-scale outdoor solar testing base in the Gobi Desert climate, demonstrating the potential for large solar installations in challenging environments.
The power station makes use of new rare earth alloy grounding materials, cutting costs by 40%. It also replaces traditional concrete foundations with steel to minimize impact on the local grassland ecosystem.
Chuang Xihong, deputy director of the Engineering Construction Department of Guodian Power Group, CHN Energy’s parent company, explained that Mengxi Blue Ocean is an agrivoltaic project as well [via PV Tech]:
Fine forage and sand-fixing plants are planted under the PV modules, providing grazing for Australian White Sheep and chickens. A composite ecological development model will be established where PV power generation and breeding will go hand in hand.
Read more: China powers up the world’s largest open-sea offshore solar farm
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