Vol. 5, No. 20
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August 15, 2008
Nevada's Online State News Journal-- Serving Informed Nevadans Since 2003
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COPYWRITING
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Intra-State Transmission
Lines Approved By BLM
Deal May Hinge On Acceptance
Of Coal Fired Plants In Ely
Sierra Pacific Resources (SPR) is the home company for Nevada Power Company in southern Nevada and Sierra Pacific Power Company in northern Nevada, but a lack of transmission lines has prevented the company from full utilization of its resources between the two ends of the state. Power developed in the south cannot be used in the north and vice versa. When SPR proposed building a 1500 megawatt coal fired power plant in Ely, in White Pine County, the company planned to connect the Ely project with Nevada Power in the south by way of a 300 mile transmission line, thus connecting the two major power suppliers in the state for the first time.
The concept of a connecting transmission line was hailed on the one hand while the idea of a large coal fired plant in White Pine County was panned by most. Sierra Pacific Resources has delayed the company’s plans for the coal fired plant, and the intra state power line was delayed at the same time. Now, another energy company, L.S. Power, also planning a 1500 megawatt coal fired plant in Ely has come forward with plans to build the cross state transmission line. L.S. Power has said the line will be built even if their plans for a major coal fired plant in White Pine County are not finalized. The Bureau of Land Management gave their blessing to the plan recently.
Sierra Pacific Resources in the meantime has not fully dropped their plans for a transmission line. If the line is built it will mean that power developed in northern Nevada, whether natural gas, oil, coal, or renewable energy would be available to southern Nevada, and Nevada Power, which does have solar power on its grid would be able to make southern Nevada energy available to the north for the first time since the two resources came under the SPR umbrella.
There actually are three major coal fired power plants planned for eastern Nevada, SPR’s and L.S. Power’s plants in Ely and Sithe Power is planning a 1500 megawatt plant in Lincoln County. None of the three plants have received approvals from federal agencies at this time, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). During discussion when the plants were first proposed, it became apparent that the State of Nevada does not have regulatory controls on the law books regarding emissions from coal fired power plants, and the plants would be under federal air standards only.
Even with the massive growth that southern Nevada has shown in the last few years, there would not be a need for another 4500 megawatts of power. Many believe the companies involved were planning to sell their resources outside the state and chose Nevada because of its lack of air pollution standards dealing with coal fired power plants. Because of a recent California law, the companies would not be able to sell their power to California power companies such as Edison or PG&E. California will no longer be able to import energy developed through coal fired plants.
The Ely transmission line would be connected to another major transmission line that is being developed to run from Wyoming and Montana on the north, through Utah, Nevada, and California. The corridor would enable many of the western states to be on a grid for the first time. Because of individual state’s laws, that grid is slow to develop. Wyoming is one of the world’s largest producers of coal for power and heating, and rail service exists between the Wyoming coal fields and Ely.
A second corridor has been proposed that would lead from northern Washoe County, near Gerlach and the Black Rock Desert, south through Reno, and follow Highway 95 south through to the Clark County connection with Nevada Power Company. Geothermal power producers are looking to develop as much as 2000 megawatts of energy in northern Washoe County, and would need that transmission grid connection to be commercially viable. There is considerable geothermal energy production in northern Nevada at this time.
According to many involved in the promotion of renewable resources, including Senate Majority Leader and Nevada Senator Harry Reid, the potential for solar energy in southern Nevada is being hampered by a lack of available transmission grid connections. There are many areas of rural Nevada that are without power today, and many others that are at the end of transmission lines that are not capable of carrying heavy loads. Those that work in the geothermal energy field have come up with the same problems. The lack of service connections has slowed the growth of the renewable energy industry in Nevada.
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