Other Types of Renewable Power

Located 35 miles south of Las Vegas, the Goodsprings Energy Recovery Station was the first renewable energy project owned by NV Energy. The project is rated at 7.5 megawatts, enough to supply approximately 4,500 homes in southern Nevada.

Goodsprings Energy Recovery Station – 7.5 megawatts
Located near Goodsprings, NV, this heat recovery project is owned by NV Energy, and currently operated by Ormat Technologies.  It is located adjacent to a Kern River Gas Transmission Company compressor station and captures heat from the compressors and then uses that heat to turn a separate generator to produce electricity.  It began producing in 2010.

Biomass Projects
Biomass power is the use of products such as wood, food crops and other plants to generate electricity. Most bio-power plants use direct-fired systems. They burn bio-energy feedstock directly to produce steam. This steam drives a turbine, which turns a generator that converts the power into electricity.
Another option is to “co-fire” or mix biomass with fossil fuels in conventional power plants. Coal-fired power plants can use co-firing systems to reduce emissions and cut back on fossil fuel consumption.

Reid Gardner Generating Station – Waste Wood Test Burn
NV Energy has tested the ability to burn a renewable biomass – small wood chips – with coal at the Reid Gardner Generating Station.  The tested “waste wood” was harvested from the Kaibab National Forest in northern Arizona, where trees had been charred from a forest fire and were not suitable for building products.  Normally the wood is left to decay or burned at the forest site, but the waste wood was trucked to the Reid Gardner station and co-burned with the coal.  In this emissions controlled environment, the wood was burned more cleanly and more than 99 percent of the normal wood ash was prevented from escaping into the air. 
The test was successfully conducted, and NV Energy is investigating options for a continual use of a biomass option for its coal-fueled power plants.

Sierra Pacific Industries – 10 megawatts
Owned and operated by Sierra Pacific Industries, this wood chip biomass project was first operational in 1989.  It is located in California, northwest of Reno, NV, in the Tahoe National Forest.

Landfill/Water Treatment Gas
Methane fumes from landfills and sewage treatment facilities, which is similar to natural gas, can be used as a biomass energy source. NV Energy currently has a credit only agreement with  one sewage treatment plant and has signed agreements for future energy deliveries with two landfill operators.

Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility – 0.7 megawatts
Owned and operated by the City of Sparks, NV, this water and sewage recycling facility generates methane gas to power a small generator.

Lockwood Renewable Energy Facility – 3.2 megawatts
To be located southeast of Reno at Waste Management's Lockwood Landfill. The facility is expected to be generating renewable energy by late 2011.  The Lockwood Plant will use landfill gas extracted from a series of wells at the landfill and use that gas in a state-of-the-art turbine-generator to make renewable electricity for NV Energy customers.  Waste Management currently has 115 landfill gas-to-energy facilities operating at its landfills throughout North America.

CC Landfill Energy, LLC – 10.67 megawatts
To be located at Republic Services’ Apex regional Landfill north of Las Vegas, this project will be owned and operated by Energenic.  The project will use landfill gas extracted from a series of wells at the landfill and use that gas in state-of-the-art turbine generators to make renewable electricity for NV Energy customers.  Using landfill gas in this manner will reduce dependence on other natural resources and will improve air quality and carbon emissions.

Small  Hydro

Fleish Hydro facility – 2.25 megawatts
This small hydro-electric plant located is located on the California/Nevada border southwest of Reno. It went into commercial operation in 2006 and is owned by the Truckee Meadows Water Authority.

Frank Hooper Hydro facility – 0.7 megawatts
This small hydro-electric plant located is located in Elko, NV and went into operation in 1986. It is owned and operated by Hooper Hydro Electric.

Truckee Carson Irrigation District – 4.0 megawatts
This small hydro-electric plant is located in Lahontan, NV and went into operation in 1987. It is owned and operated by the Truckee Carson Irrigation District.

Verdi Hydro facility – 2.15 megawatts
This small hydro-electric plant located is located in Washoe County and went into service in 2006. It is owned by the Truckee Meadows Water Authority.

Washoe Hydro facility – 2.15 megawatts
This small hydro-electric plant located is located in Washoe County and went into service in 2006. It is owned by the Truckee Meadows Water Authority.