$80M solar project to enhance grid reliability for Pahrump, Fish Lake Valley
A closeup look at the solar panels used for the MGM Resorts Mega Solar Array during the launch of the 100-megawatt solar power facility Monday, June 28, 2021. The solar array facility will produce up to 90 percent of MGM Resorts Las Vegas daytime power.
Friday, Aug. 30, 2024 | 2 a.m.
Valley Electric will install a 37-megawatt solar power generator and storage system to serve Pahrump and Fish Lake Valley as a part of the Powering Affordable Clean Energy program from the United States Department of Agriculture.
The project is expected to strengthen the energy grid and continue powering critical services in the region, producing enough electricity for 3,500 homes, the USDA said in a news release on Thursday.
President Joe Biden’s administration is investing more than $80 million for clean energy projects in Nevada with the goal of lower household power bills, expanded reliable access to clean energy and more jobs within rural communities, the department said.
The Powering Affordable Clean Energy, or PACE program, is funded by Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
“Nevada reached its hottest summer yet on record and at times like that, it’s especially important to have affordable, clean energy that’s also reliable,” said Xochitl Torres Small, the deputy secretary of agriculture in an interview with the Sun.
The area around Pahrump is vulnerable to wildfires, but the USDA said it should soon have an uninterrupted supply of electricity with the opening of the facility that will generate and store energy from the sun.
Torres Small said the USDA has received reports in the past, specifically in Pahrump and the Fish Lake area about power outages, which can be particularly harmful during bouts of excess heat.
She has heard stories from the region, like one incident of a woman who bought herself a backup generator along with extension cords, so she wouldn’t be the only one in the community with access to power during an outage.
“That just reinforces that rural communities find ways to make things work and the Biden-Harris administration is proud to invest in them so that they can have that reliable, affordable power they deserve,” Torres Small added.
More people are becoming concerned about increased disasters and heat in light of annual scorching heat, including the record-setting temperatures experienced this summer, in Southern Nevada, Torres Small said.
Before the funds are delivered, Valley Electric must put together a community benefit plan that considers factors like labor agreements, what the workforce will look like, and the effects on the community and land, she said.
The Inflation Reduction Act, signed by Biden in 2022, is considered the most significant action Congress has taken on clean energy and climate change in American history, the White House said.
The legislation sought to address the climate crisis, lower consumer costs and “drive the global clean energy economy forward.”
Torres Small said when she recently spoke to Valley Electric officials, they were aware of the need to update the electric grid and their power generation, but they didn’t have the money to do it.
She said there has been a backlog of projects that rural electric cooperatives and other energy providers have wanted to invest in nationwide, and PACE empowers them to do that.
“They had this plan they had wanted to do and weren’t able to do it until the Powering Affordable Clean Energy program came up, and then they were able to apply for the funds and felt like they could take that leap,” she added.
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