S&P projects up to 5GW of new renewable energy development in Nevada by 2030

FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailPrint分享S&P Global Market Intelligence ($):Over the past year, several states in the Western U.S. have passed or amended renewable portfolio standard legislation to significantly increase development of solar, wind and other forms of green energy. Market Intelligence estimates that Nevada’s law could spur 400-500 MW per year in new projects through 2030, when it aims to supply 50% of all retail sales in the state with renewable electricity.Nevada in April 2019 joined a growing list of states pushing aggressive milestones for renewable electricity. Senate Bill 358, signed into law April 22, stipulates that 50% of retail load be served by renewable electric generation sources by 2030. All utilities or retail electric providers who serve more than 1 TWh per year of load — virtually all of Nevada’s retail load — are subject to the standard. Qualifying generation resources include biomass, geothermal power, solar, wind or new hydroelectric power. The law includes the following interim milestones for renewable electricity: 2020 — 22%; 2021 — 24%; 2022 — 29%; 2024 — 34%; and 2027 — 42%.Natural gas has been the dominant technology in Nevada for well over a decade and accounted for roughly three-quarters of the state’s electricity generation in 2017. Like in most states, coal generation has been declining, with only one utility-owned coal plant remaining in operation. The North Valmy Station plant, owned by NV Energy Inc., is planned to shut down by 2025. With abundant solar insolation and generally poor wind resources, solar generation has been the largest benefactor of the shift away from coal. Annual solar generation increased from 156,000 MWh in 2008 to over 4 TWh in 2017. Nevada also has impressive geothermal resources and has boosted geothermal generation to over 3 TWh in recent years.Under the set of targets established in SB 358, Market Intelligence projects Nevada will need to procure a total of 7.3 TWh of generation in 2020, growing to the ultimate target of 18.2 TWh by 2030, or nearly 10% annual growth. With current federal tax incentives expiring for wind facilities and declining for solar facilities in 2020, Market Intelligence projects a higher rate of project growth through 2021, keeping pace with milestones and load growth thereafter.The current development pipeline, e.g., announced projects that do not have contracts and are not under construction, for Nevada totals 4,900 MW, including 3,800 MW of solar and 600 MW of geothermal projects. As this exceeds the 2,650 MW of market demand that Market Intelligence estimates by 2025, Nevada appears positioned to meet its near-term milestones. Note that the capacity development forecast for Nevada, which includes mainly solar projects and a small amount of wind, differs from the current set of projects under development, chiefly in consideration of potential geothermal projects.Nevada’s principal electric utility provider, Berkshire Hathaway Energy affiliate NV Energy, is an active participant in the Energy Imbalance Market, or EIM. The EIM optimizes electric generator dispatch across a number of interconnection points, or nodes, throughout the Western grid, providing new renewable facilities in Nevada access to a market potentially broader than the state itself. Additionally, several states across the West have compliance markets created by RPS, into which new projects can sell emissions-free electricity. The California market is the most prominent; Market Intelligence has identified 500 MW of solar projects in Nevada contracted to California’s RPS market, along with about 250 MW of geothermal projects.More ($): Nevada RPS to drive more than 5 GW of renewables development by 2030 S&P projects up to 5GW of new renewable energy development in Nevada by 2030