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| - HIDE EXPLANATION |
Project Details:Top
| Utility Name: |
NV Energy
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| Utility Type: |
IOU
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| Funding Source(s): |
RPS charges
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| State: |
Nevada | NV
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| Region: |
West
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| Utility Program(s): |
Centralized Solar System: Thermal,Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
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| Technology: |
PV
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Project Description:Top
Nevada Solar One is a solar thermal-electric plant with a 64 MW rated capacity located in the Nevada desert owned by Acciona Energia. The electricity is purchased by NV Energy (formerly Nevada Power/Sierra Pacific Power).
The plant has 47 miles of parabolic cylinder concentrators with mirrors that concentrate sunlight onto receiver tubes. The receivers heat a special heat transfer fluid oil to 300 degrees Celsius which is then circulated through the mirror field to heat exchangers. These hold water that boils to drive a 75MW Siemens reheat steam turbine, which is very similar process to a natural gas plant. During short-term cloudy conditions, additional heating (from natural gas) is used to bring the heat transfer fluid to a boil to stabilize the output and prevent freezing of the oil, which can occur at less than 55 F. However, the natural gas provides only 2% of the total heating requirements, and is generally not used to continue output during longer periods of cloud cover.
The $250 million facility took 16 months to be built and is designed to produce 134 million kilowatt hours (kWh) a year. Groundbreaking started in February 2006, and the plant came online in June 2007. It is located in Boulder City, 40 kilometers southwest of Las Vegas, and sprawls across a total surface area of 14 million square feet. There are 28 full-time positions on staff to maintain and operate it.
The electricity is purchased by NV Energy under a 20-year power purchase agreement. The purchase helps the utility offset the requirements for the production of electric power from renewables - 20% of the electricity consumption in 2013, with 5% exclusively from solar energy.
The initial project developer was Solargenix Energy, formerly Duke Solar. In 2006, Spanish company Acciona Energia bought a 55% stake in Solargenix, and the company now owns the whole project.
Solar One is to date the largest solar-thermal electric power plant built in the US since the 1980s.

Project Partners:Top
ACCIONA North America
Project Links:Top
General Project Description: http://www.nevadasolarone.net/
Video: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea//news/article/2007/03/nevada-solar-one-video-47845
NV Power Solar Projects: http://www.nevadapower.com/renewablesenvironment/renewables/solar.cfm
More Information:Top