Nevada solar energy project to supply power to California

Earlier this week, Liberty Utilities held an official groundbreaking ceremony for their first-ever solar facility being built in Mineral County, Nevada.

“This project continues Liberty’s commitment to renewable energy sources,” states Greg Sorensen, President of Liberty Utilities-CA. “When completed later this year, the solar project will meet 25 percent of our customers’ energy needs.”

The Luning Solar Energy Center (aka the “Luning Project”) will be a 50-megawatt project.

In addition to the solar facility itself, a 120 kV power line approximately 1.6 miles long will be constructed from the solar facility to NV Energy’s existing Table Mountain Substation.

The Luning Project will deliver its generation at this point of interconnection on the NV Energy Transmission system in Nevada. NV Energy will then deliver the energy to delivery points within Liberty Utilities’ California service territory.
Liberty Utilities currently purchases all of its power from NV Energy through a Purchased Power Agreement (PPA), except for emergency diesel-generated power. Last year Liberty re-negotiated their PPA with NV Energy to exclude coal-fired power whenever possible. Renewable resources currently comprise approximately 22% of Liberty’s total power mix and meet the State of California’s current mandate, which is scheduled to increase to 33% by 2020 and 50% by 2030.