8-16-10 Pahrump Valley Times

SolarReserve expects approval for project

TONOPAH — Thomas Edison once said, "…we should be using Nature's inexhaustible source of energy – sun, wind and tide … I would put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we can tackle that."

The Tonopah area may soon be using solar thermal plants that operate with molten salt to store and release solar energy.

Nevada got approval from the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada for the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, a solar power project to be located approximately 10 miles northwest of Tonopah.

SolarReserve expects all project approvals to be granted by December, making the plant available for operation in 2013. During construction, the project will employ as many as 450 construction workers. Once complete, it will employ 45 permanent operations staff and will have an annual operating budget of more than $5 million, the majority of which will probably be spent in the region.

The facility will use concentrating solar power technology and be equipped with an integral storage system. The technology generates power from sunlight by focusing energy from sun-tracking mirrors called heliostats onto a central receiver.

Within the receiver, the concentrated sunlight heats molten salt to over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The heated salt then goes to an insulated storage tank. Since molten salt retains much of the heat it absorbs, the plant can draw on its heat for up to 24 sunless hours, according to SolarReserve, which developed the technology.

The heat absorbed by the salt is used to make high-pressure steam that directly powers a turbine for producing electricity. Once cooled, the salt will be sent to the cold salt storage tank, ready to repeat the process the following day.

SolarReserves's local subsidiary, Tonopah Solar Energy LLC, has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement for the sale of electricity from the proposed 100 megawatt solar energy project.

The project is proposed to be located on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Renewable energy is considered a beneficial public use, and BLM's policy, as consistent with national and state leadership goals, is to facilitate environmentally responsible renewable energy development.

While the size of the project, with approximately 1,600 acres of disturbance anticipated, is large compared to conventional power projects, it represents less that 0.05 percent of all BLM administered lands in Nye County.

The BLM and it's third-party contractor have been working on a draft environmental impact statement expected to be ready for public review this month. The draft EIS will address the purpose and need for the project, assess alternatives to the proposed project, describe environmental resource areas in and around the site and assess the potential environmental impacts of the project.

Public meetings will be held to allow the public the opportunity to ask questions and comment on the draft. The BLM will then incorporate modifications to the document and issue a final EIS, anticipated to be complete later this year, at which time there will be another opportunity for the public to comment.

The proposed site is in a largely undeveloped area with good site access as well as access to NV Energy's existing transmission system, minimizing the length and cost of new transmission lines required.

When completed, the project will supply approximately 480,000 megawatt hours annually of clean, renewable electricity, enough to power up to 75,000 homes during peak electricity periods utilizing its innovative energy storage capabilities.