Nevada Power wants rejection of solar project to be reconsidered

Nov 17 -Yellowbrix

 

Nevada Power has asked the state Public Utilities Commission to reconsider its October decision to reject construction of a 200-megawatt solar project on the Moapa River Paiute Indian Reservation as part of its overall plan to retire its coal-fired electricity generation within the next five years.

The commission voted 2-1 on Oct. 27 to reject the $438 million solar facility as part of the utility's plan to shut down the Reid Gardner coal-fired plant in Moapa and end its reliance on coal-fired electrical generation by Dec. 31, 2019 .

In its filing, the utility says that "in light of the policy considerations at issue in this proceeding," it is asking the commission to approve the petition by Dec. 23 .

Approving the Moapa project "reduces the impact of retiring and replacing coal-fired generation on customers, provides value to customers through incremental fuel diversity, generates construction jobs in 2015, and yields a net positive impact on Nevada's economy," the petition says.

The original order "suffers from legal and factual error on the basis of jobs alone," the filing says.

The petition says that the plan as modified by the October order does not provide any incremental fuel diversity and does not advance the public interest benefits of renewable energy development in Nevada .

"Instead, the modified plan increases Nevada Power's dependence on natural gas, a resource that does not exist in this state in any significant quantity, and increases the price exposure of Nevada Power's customers to fluctuation in the natural gas markets," the petition says.

Concerns about the cost of the solar project, and the potential excess electricity generated from the facility, led the commission to delete it from the overall plan, which was mandated by Senate Bill 123 from the 2013 legislative session. The measure directed the utility to move away from coal-fired electrical generation to alternative forms of energy.

On May 1 , Nevada Power , which is part of NV Energy, submitted its plan to eliminate electricity production from coal. The plan proposed to replace the coal-generated electricity by purchasing two existing gas-generated plants in North Las Vegas that can produce up to 496 megawatts of electricity.

Also proposed was the purchase of a 15-megawatt solar project at Nellis Air Force Base .

These elements of the plan were accepted by the entire commission but the Moapa project was rejected.

Commissioner David Noble said the $438 million facility was not needed.

"Paying for generating capacity that is not needed places unnecessary costs on ratepayers," he said.

Sen. Harry Reid said after the vote that the decision to reject the solar project was a setback for all Nevadans.

In a statement, Reid, D- Nev. , said the solar project would be an opportunity for the tribe to build and generate clean energy on its land and to improve the quality of life for is members.

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