Nevada and California Approve 3 Major Renewable Energy Projects

The US Department of the interior has given the go-ahead for two solar energy and one wind projects to be constructed in the regions of Nevada and California which will help to deliver a joint 1100 MW of energy to the grid system.

On completion these renewable energy projects will give enough power for 340,000 homes and in the process offer up to 1000 jobs throughout the construction and solar energy industry.

The proposed project includes the 750 MW McCoy Solar Energy Project the largest of the three projects to be agreed and is likely to create one of the largest renewable energy facilities in the world. The facility will be built on land covering 7700 acres and is located in Riverside County, California. On completion, this facility being developed by ExtraEra is likely to be capable of generating up to 750 MW once operating at full capacity.

In the same region of California’s Riverside East Solar Energy Zone, the 150 MW Desert Harvest Solar Farm has been given the green light to start on a project using photovoltaic solar panels and is likely to span across a site of about 1200 acres. This project is being overseen by EDF Renewable Energy.

The final project to get the go-ahead to proceed is the 200 MW Searchlight Wind Energy Project which will be constructed in Clark County Nevada and potentially generate up to 200 MW of energy through the use of eighty turbines, with each offering the capability of providing 2.3 MW. This last project being overseen by Duke’ Energy will cover an area of 18,949 acres which surrounds a significant area of the Searchlight town in the state of Nevada.

Prior to announcing the go-ahead, the interior department received a significant amount of opposition from tribes in the local desert regions as they believe these renewable energy projects will have a negative impact on the local area. Nevertheless, the announcement was given for the approval of these projects to continue with numerous more solar, wind, and geothermal projects planned for the foreseeable future.