Nevada is home to some of the brightest sun available. It’s only natural that it is considered an excellent renewable energy source. For that purpose, it’s a great place to install and benefit from the unique plus sides of Solar Panels. There have been many attempts to create large PV arrays in Las Vegas and some with enormous power. Even though solar energy is abundantly available, so much PV energy is still not being captured. The key to that is solar arrays.
Solar Arrays in Las Vegas
Although there have been Nevada solar farm projects that have been scrapped, many are worth mentioning and discussing further. For example, one huge solar power plant Nevada has is Crescent Dunes. It spans over acres of the Nevada desert. They created it after a large sum of 1 billion dollars was gathered to make it come to life. It was the world’s first concentrated solar plant as it used molten salt to store energy. It has an unimaginable size.
There is also the Burning Man Project. Developers called it the “solar mountains”, and it will span over 1,600 hectares in the form of a fly ranch. This system would generate 300,000 kWh in clean energy per year. It is a project that the masses hoped would come to life soon.
What are the most prominent Solar Farms in Las Vegas?
The Gemini project is a 7000 acre 690 MW solar array. It is Nevada’s largest solar farm as of now. It is so massive that it can power 260,000 homes. That is incomprehensible when you consider the size. It will also include a battery storage system for the hours that the sun is not shining. This project is the switch to solar in Nevada that we needed to hit the goals set by the state for renewable energy using solar energy exporting.
The biggest solar array in Las Vegas is The Battle Born Solar Project. The developers planned for it to be 850 megawatts and spans 9,200 acres of land about 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas. They scrapped The Battle Born project due to residents finding it an eye-sore and not convenient as they thought it would deter tourists from visiting sculptures in the nearby area. They also claimed it would hinder hiking, camping and driving off-way vehicles. It was a shame since, as of now, renewables make up 28% of the total energy production of Nevada’s utility-scale, and it would’ve helped to hit the 50% goal that they have set to hit by 2030.
Overall, many projects in Nevada are worth praise. Their goals for renewable energy for the state’s electricity production are commendable. With time, the state of solar in Nevada can only get better.