PUCN Community Session. Photo courtesy News 4.
This story was published by News 4.
Community members gathered in Carson City on Thursday to voice their concerns to the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada about NV Energy’s Integrated Resource Plan.
The plan, first introduced in May, spans from 2025-2044 and aims to balance the increasing energy needs of the Northern Nevada community.
Under the proposed plan, the utility company would add three solar power and battery storage projects, along with two natural-gas peaking units.
Many community members feel that the peaking units would be inefficient and harmful to the environment.
“Gas peaking power plants are incredibly unreliable. They’re incredibly expensive. NV Energy is proposing $573 million go towards these gas-peaking power plants, and that comes straight out of ratepayer funds,” said Olivia Tanager, Chapter Director of the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter.
Members of the Sierra Club rallied outside before the meeting, hoping to make their stance loud and clear.
We support the clean energy parts of this plan that they’re proposing. We support the solar, we support the geothermal in the battery storage, but we do not support and cannot support the gas peaking power plants.”
Another concern among community members is the cost to build and maintain the plants.
“It’s an extraordinary amount of money that’s being spent on outdated, unreliable infrastructure that rate payers are going to be funding,” said Tanager.
While a majority of community members who spoke are against the natural gas peaking units, Tom Clark, a member of the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce, says it comes down to balance.
“It really comes down to balance and stability. We need to have a stable amount of electrons moving through our grid to be able to balance our prices, balance the amount of electrons… know what our future is going to look like. Those peaker plants, those facilities don’t run 24 seven. They only run when we really, truly need that energy.”
Clark also says the peaking plants eliminate the fear factors when it comes to cost.
“With those peaker plants, it allows us to have some stability in knowing when those peaks happen. The electrons are here. We know what it’s going to cost. We know that the long term price of those electrons is going to ultimately be okay.”
As of now, the Integrated Resource Plan is in the application stage. That application needs to be approved by the PUCN.
According to the NV Energy, the natural-gas peaking units are a “low-cost option for customers,” and will not impact the company’s push to meet Nevada’s renewable energy standards.
If approved, the overall plan would take effect in 2025, with the natural-gas peaking units proposed to be complete by Summer of 2028.
