In Nevada, we don’t believe in half measures. Whatever the pursuit, we go big.
I was reminded of this during a recent tour of the Gemini Solar + Storage facility, located about 30 minutes northeast of Las Vegas.
A $1.2 billion project, it’s bigger than Harry Reid International Airport and North Las Vegas Airport combined. By capacity, it’s the largest solar and energy storage project in the country and one of the largest of its kind in the world.
After two years of construction, which employed 1,300 workers, the Gemini project came online in July. It combines 690 megawatts of solar arrays and 380 megawatts of batteries to be able to meet 10 percent of Nevada’s peak electricity demand.
The project is testament to Nevada’s open-for-business environment. Try building something the size of two major airports in two years somewhere else in the country.
But that’s not all. Breakthroughs made during the development of the Gemini project could help improve the economics of future solar projects and minimize the amount of land needed to support them.
More solar projects are being paired with battery storage so that they can reliably deliver power to homes and businesses long after the sun goes down. But the developers of the Gemini project, Primergy, have taken this concept a big step further.
Most solar-to-storage facilities convert direct current (DC) from solar panels to alternating current (AC) before the electricity moves to the battery. Once the electricity arrives at the battery, it has to be converted back to DC in order to be stored.
At the Gemini project, this process is streamlined into what’s known as a DC-coupled system, meaning DC electricity runs directly from the solar panels into the battery — making it much more efficient from an energy standpoint.
The design of the Gemini project is also highly efficient with land. Specially designed mounts allow the solar arrays to more closely follow the natural contours of the desert landscape and keep land disturbance to an absolute minimum.
The impact of this design innovation really adds up. By one estimate, it reduced the physical footprint of the land by more than 20 percent. Not only that, the majority of native desert plants within the boundaries of the project were undisturbed, and native species such as the desert tortoise will be able to live alongside the solar arrays.
This is a big deal. Some solar projects attract environmental opposition because of the amount of land they use and the disturbance to plant and wildlife habitats during the construction process.
While much of that opposition is more ideological than practical, it makes good sense for the solar industry to keep finding ways to reduce the physical footprint of newly built facilities. Efficiency isn’t just good for the environment — it’s good for business too. Lower land use means lower land costs per unit of electricity produced.
To meet the energy needs of the future, Nevada is going to have to continue expanding its power grid. Solar and battery storage projects of all sizes will play a major role, as will other energy sources, including natural gas, geothermal, hydroelectric, wind and hydrogen.
The key is a diversified energy portfolio that ensures access to reliable, resilient, affordable clean energy for Nevada homeowners and businesses. And it starts with a business climate that welcomes big construction projects and the investment and jobs they bring to our state.
The Gemini solar project takes Nevada a giant step closer to the diversified energy portfolio of the future.
Like I said: Here in Nevada, we go big.
Stavros Anthony is Nevada’s lieutenant governor.
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