Liberty Utilities invites public to new 50 MW Solar Energy Center

A new solar energy project will be unveiled to the public on Wednesday, April 19 at 9:30 a.m. in the town of Luning, Nevada. Since going on line, the new 50 MW Luning Solar Energy Center has supplied 25 percent of Liberty Utilities' customers’ energy needs with clean, renewable energy.

The Luning center is located on Highway 361 at Mile Marker 25, approximately a three-hour drive from South Lake Tahoe.

“We’re very excited to share this official opening with our customers and the community of Luning,” stated Travis Johnson, Liberty Utilities’ VP of Electric Operations.

The Luning Solar Energy Center is a 50 MW project. In addition to the solar facility itself, a 120 kV power line approximately 1.6 miles long was constructed from the solar facility to NV Energy’s existing Table Mountain Substation. The Luning Project delivers its generation at this point of interconnection on the NV Energy Transmission system in Nevada. NV Energy transmits the energy to delivery points within Liberty Utilities’ California service territory.

Prior to the Luning facility, Liberty Utilities purchased all of its power from NV Energy through a Purchased Power Agreement (PPA), except for emergency diesel-generated power. Liberty re-negotiated their PPA with NV Energy in 2015 to exclude coal-fired power whenever possible starting in 2016.

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.

Liberty’s most recent annual customer satisfaction survey conducted in Fall 2016 revealed that 75% of their customers rated Liberty as an environmentally responsible company—up from 68% in the previous year.

Special Note: Anyone entering the site MUST wear closed-toe shoes; no sandals will be permitted. It is also encouraged NOT to wear heels as the ground may be uneven and difficult to walk on. Tour participants will be asked to wear hard hats which will be provided. The ribbon cutting and refreshments portion of the event will be at 10:00 a.m.