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Location: Nye County
Acres: 4,350
Type of Project: solar; dry-cooling
Developer: Solar Millenium
Potential Output: 484 MW
Location Description: This project is in Nye County, NV, south of US Highway 95 within a few miles of the Nevada/California border. Ash Meadows Wildlife Refuge is 7 miles southeast of the site, and Las Vegas lies 80 miles to the southeast.
A Record of Decision (ROD) was signed for this project on 11/15/10, granting approval for construction to begin. You can read our press release here. |
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Background
Amargosa toad (photo by B. Nesloni, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
Within the project vicinity, there is one record of the endangered desert tortoise (~5 km to the east), though the project will be built on public lands that have no designated critical habitat for federally endangered or threatened species. The site itself is modeled as moderate quality habitat for tortoises based on a recent USGS publication. One plant and three invertebrate species on the Nevada Natural Heritage Program's list of species of conservation concern are found nearby as well.
The plant is Death Valley beardtongue (Penstemon fruticiformis) and is well to the south and likely to not be impacted unless it is also found to exist within the project boundary. All three invertebrates are in the Big Dunes Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) to the northwest and would not occur outside of the dune habitats. Numerous other species of conservation concern are found in Ash Meadows Wildlife Refuge, an area managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Park Service dedicated to protecting the rare plant and animal resources there. Ash Meadows is about 7 miles southeast of the project site.
Death Valley beardtongue (photo courtesy of Gary Monroe)
A diversity model for species of conservation concern in Nevada shows relatively low richness at the site. An annual grass model shows the area as having relatively low invasive species impacts. There are no issues related to large species' habitat or movement corridors.
Past impacts to the area include road developments through the valley, including the major highway to the north. At Big Dunes, OHV use is allowed and occurs frequently. There are transmission lines, pipelines and other infrastructure developed to support the agriculture in the valley and an abandoned train grade west of the project site. Private property surrounds much of the southern and western boundary and is inside the eastern portion of the site.
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Can this project be "smart from the start?"
Early in the process, we determined that this could be a good project provided it was a dry-cooled solar thermal project. We do not support the wet-cooled alternative because of concerns about the over-allocation of existing water in the Mojave region and because of the fragile nature of the natural resources in the area. The developers are moving ahead with the less water-intensive technology. The final EIS for this project was issued 10/15/10, and the Record of Decision (ROD) was signed 11/15/10. You can read our press release about the ROD, which granted approval for construction to begin.
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What others saying:
- This 10/21/10 article by Scott Streater, Environment and Energy (E & E) reporter, offers a good summary of the status of Nevada's fast-track projects, and particularly of the Amargosa project and it's projected water use: "RENEWABLE ENERGY: Fast-tracked solar projects help Nev. emerge from Calif.'s shadow."
- This is an Aug. 25, 2009 Las Vegas Review-Journal article, “About 70 attend solar meetings," by John G. Edwards
- On Nov. 16, 2010, Solar Millenium announced the project would utilize a more water-saving technology than originally proposed. The statement, in part, said, “The decision to employ dry-cooling technology follows extensive due diligence that took into account unique environmental and ecological considerations including wetlands and wildlife habitats, water conservation and land usage, and state and federal government renewable energy initiatives and policies. Following a series of local public hearings and ongoing discussions with regulatory authorities and environmental groups, it was determined that dry-cooling was in the best interests of the Amargosa Valley community and its economic development plans.”
- Here is a Jan. 21, 2010 article in the Las Vegas Sun, “Amargosa Valley warms up to solar plan,” by Stephanie Tavares
A Record of Decision (ROD) was signed for this project on 11/15/10, granting approval for construction to begin. The Final EIS was issued 10/15/10 and is available here. (The draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was published March 19, 2010 and is available here. Public comments on the plan were due May 3, 2010, and NWP submitted comments you can read here.)
Public meetings were held to review and comment on the Draft EIS. They were held April 6 in Beatty; April 7 in Amargosa Valley; April 13 in Pahrump; and April 14, 2010 in Las Vegas.
Do you have additional information for us? If so, please send us an e-mail. |
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