Clean Energy Infrastructure Growing

Southern Nevada has long been on the cutting edge of clean energy use, and new infrastructure projects are underway to expand the region's renewable energy resources to support its growing population, while helping the state achieve renewable energy goals.

In 2016, the city of Las Vegas became the first large U.S. city to transition to 100 percent renewable energy to power its buildings, streetlights and facilities. The city also generates power with solar projects installed at 40 parks, community centers and facilities across the city. On the Las Vegas Strip, many resorts are powered by rising amounts of renewable energy, whether through NV Energy sources or, in the case of MGM Resorts International, through its own dedicated solar array. Earlier this year, Southern Nevada hosted the first Super Bowl that was powered completely by renewable energy. These initiatives have helped expand renewable energy to 37 percent of all energy use in Nevada. The state's goal is 50 percent renewable energy use by 2030.

Currently, 58.3 percent of Nevada's power comes from natural gas with another 6.4 percent coming from coal. Although fossil fuel usage is declining, growing energy needs give the race to develop renewables a sense of urgency. NV Energy, the largest electricity provider in Southern Nevada, served more than one million electricity customers last year, a 1.6 percent increase from 2022, while its peak load of 6.3 gigawatts increased 4.6 percent year over year. One gigawatt is enough energy to power 750,000 homes. With Southern Nevada projected to add half a million residents by 2040, developing additional renewable energy infrastructure will be critical to support the growing energy demand that comes with them.

The Greenlink West transmission line project promises to overhaul connectivity between Southern Nevada and Northern Nevada. The project will run 350 miles of 525 kilovolt transmission line from Las Vegas to Yerington, with a capacity of as much as four gigawatts of electricity. At maximum capacity, the line could supply power for more than four million homes. Greenlink West will be accompanied by a sister project, Greenlink North. This 210-mile line will connect Yerington to Ely and create an energy loop with the already operational One Nevada line from Ely to Las Vegas. Construction on Greenlink projects is expected to begin in early 2025, with the projects coming online in Spring 2027.

Greater connectivity will allow Southern Nevada to take advantage of the renewable energy sources that exist throughout the state. With 49 operational solar farms, solar power is the largest and fastest-growing renewable energy source in Nevada. These utility-sized facilities, combined with small-scale installations, generate 23 percent of Nevada's electricity. Southern Nevada is home to 28 solar array facilities with a combined capacity of 3.2 gigawatts, and another 18 solar array projects are in development to produce 6.4 gigawatts. To assist with long-term storage of excess energy, 18 battery storage projects with a combined capacity of 10.9 gigawatts are also in development. One battery project already online operates near Moapa at the former site of the Reid Gardner Power Station.

The continued development of renewable energy generation, transmission and storage facilities is important to support Southern Nevada's growing energy demands while reducing carbon emissions and meeting the state's renewable energy goals.