Friday, Dec. 20, 2024 | 12:17 p.m.
The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada on Friday approved NV Energy’s integrated resource plan calling for methane gas units of around 400 megawatts at the North Valmy Generating Station in Humboldt County in a $573 million project.
NV Energy must submit a plan every three years outlining its strategy for meeting future energy needs while considering the cost for customers.
The natural gas peaking units were proposed to be ready for summer 2028 and would be used in times of peak demand in Northern Nevada, the utility said.
The approval is concerning for environmentalists, who urged the commission to reject the plan because the project will raise costs for Nevadans, increase pollution and lock the state into fossil fuel dependence, officials with the Nevada Conservation League and Education Fund said in a statement.
“We’re really trying to push back against the natural gas plant that was proposed,” said Audrey Peral, program director for the advocacy group Chispa Nevada, another group against the proposal. “We are working with our community (and) also really working on building out a more long-term plan on how we can be an active part of the (resource plan) process.”
The proposal was drafted to help NV Energy serve its customers and lay the groundwork to meet future demand, said Ryan Atkins, vice president of resource optimization and resource planning for NV Energy, in testimony to the commission.
The integrated resource plan will also bring three solar and battery storage Power Purchase Agreements, or PPAs, totaling more than 1,000 megawatts of solar energy and more than 1,000 megawatts of battery storage, according to the summary. The agreements will help the utility achieve a 50% renewable energy portfolio by 2030 as mandated by Senate Bill 358 in the 2019 Nevada Legislature.
The PPAs approved by the commission call for an energy developer to build and maintain storage on land owned by the utility, which would purchase energy from the developer at a fixed rate.
“(NV Energy is) not deviating from their clean energy goals and remain committed to Nevada’s sustainability goals,” Atkins said in the testimony.
Nevada has no significant natural gas reserves and a minimal amount of natural gas production, according to a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Interstate pipelines provide the majority of Nevada’s natural gas supply from Utah, with smaller amounts from California and Idaho.
Nevada uses around one-third of the natural gas that enters the state, the report said. The electric power sector uses 65% of the natural gas delivered to Nevada consumers.
The effects of air pollution are widespread, said Joanne Leovy, the steering committee chair at Nevada Clinicians for Climate Action. Natural gas plants emit precursor compounds that form ozone and fine particulate matter in the air.
The combined effects of those pollutants cause lung problems, like asthma, lung disease and lung cancer.
Among other effects, Leovy said, are an increase in heart attacks and heart failure, and neurological impacts in children and older adults. Having more renewable energy is important because there is less point source solution.
“We know that it’s good because it reduces greenhouse gases,” Leovy said. “But we also know that if Nevada reduces greenhouse gases, that only makes a small difference because this is a global problem.”
Although the methane plant in Humboldt County will only run during peak times, every time it starts up, it releases more nitrous oxide, a precursor to smog, than it does as it’s running, Leovy said.
“Anything we can do to prevent health problems can help our health system to function better,” she said.
Renewable energy produced in Nevada is less expensive and does not have to be transported, said Kristee Watson, executive director at Nevada Conservation League.
In 2023, renewable energy generated 39% of Nevada’s electricity, a report from the Energy Information Administration found. Since 2016, the share of Nevada’s in-state electricity from solar energy has almost tripled.
Watson wants to work with the commission to remain on track to meet the state’s energy goals of reaching a 50% renewable energy portfolio by 2030, she said.
“It doesn’t make good economic sense for us to be trucking in what we need to power the state,” Watson said. “We are the sunniest state in the country.”