Scoping Meetings
April 28, 2010 - Bureau of Land Management will hold public scoping meetings to get comments on its Draft Environmental Impact Statement just released. Public Comment Period - The publication of the NOA in the Federal Register begins the 45-day public comment period for the EIS. The notice includes specific information about the public comment period, including time frame, public meetings, and information about how comments may be submitted.
Public meetings will be held to review and comment on the Draft EIS. The meetings will be in an open house format with information available about the Draft EIS and the proposed project. The meetings are scheduled from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. on May 11, 12 and 13 in Primm, Henderson, and Jean:
Tuesday, May 11, 2010: Primm Valley Resort and Casino, 31900 South Las Vegas Blvd., I-15S, Primm
Wednesday, May 12, 2010: M Resort Spa Casino, 12300 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Henderson
Thursday, May 13, 2010: Gold Strike Hotel and Casino, 1 Main Street, Jean
From BLM Las Vegas office. See our report >>here.
First Solar Buys NextLight
April 28, 2010 - First Solar paid $285 million in cash for NextLight Renewable Power, LLC. The acquisition includes a 1,100 MW solar project pipeline. The transaction represents another strategic step in First Solar’s expansion in the U.S. utility-scale power market, which began in 2007 with the acquisition of Turner Renewable Energy and continued with the acquisitions of solar project pipelines from OptiSolar in 2009 and Edison Mission Group in 2010.
See BusinessWire.com.
Draft EIS Out
April 16, 2010 - Primm, Nevada - If you are concerned about the desert tortoise, this should worry you. The Bureau of Land Management and the applicant NextLight plan on translocating about 200 desert tortoise to an area they refer to as a "depletion zone". It is north of Searchlight, Nevada, near Highway 93. That means that the tortoises that formerly inhabited the depletion zone vanished for some reason. Perhaps from highway predators. Putting 200 more there may actually not be a good plan. While it is in a Critical Habitat area it is also in a different recovery unit, meaning they will mix up the genetics of the population.
The latest information we have is that First Solar of Arizona may be the supplier of Cadmium-Telluride thin-film fixed photovoltaic panels for the project.
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the NextLight Silver State Solar Project came out today.
To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive written comments on the Silver State Solar Project Draft EIS within 45 days.
The BLM will announce future meetings or hearings and any other public involvement activities at least 15 days in advance through public notices, local news media, and the BLM Web site at: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/lvfo.html.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Web site: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/prog/energy/fast-track_renewable.html.
E-mail: nextlight_primm_nv_sep@blm.gov.
Mail: Gregory Helseth, Renewable Energy Project Manager, BLM Pahrump Field Office, 4701 North Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130-2301.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Helseth, phone: 702-515-5173
702-515-5173 , e-mail: Gregory_Helseth@blm.gov.
NextLight Renewable Power, LLC applied to the BLM for a right-of-way on public lands to construct a solar photovoltaic (PV) plant facility approximately two miles southeast of
Primm, Clark County, Nevada. The facility is expected to operate for approximately 50 years. The proposed project would produce 400 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy.
The solar field and infrastructure would consist of single-axis tracker systems or fixed panels, an underground and overhead electrical power collection system, two step-up transformers, 230 kilovolt (kV) and 220 kV transmission lines, an operation and maintenance area, a switchyard, paved access and maintenance roads, flood and drainage controls, and a fire break.
The EIS analyzes three alternatives, including the no action alternative (Alternative 1) and two action alternatives. Alternative 2--the proposed action--would disturb up to 2,996 acres of land and would include the use of berms to reduce erosion. Alternative 3 would
disturb up to 3,669 acres of land and would employ an alternate drainage and flood control design to control erosion. Both action alternatives would use solar PV technology, although the specific types of arrays and trackers have not been determined at this time.
[Federal Register: April 16, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 73), Page 19990-19991, From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access wais.access.gpo.gov]
Preliminary Tortoise Surveys
March 19, 2010 - Basin and Range Watch recently used a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain 2009 preliminary tortoise surveys for the NextLight Silver State solar site in Ivanpah Valley, a place where we have seen abundant sign of Desert tortoises.
The biological contractors estimated that there are 20 tortoises per square mile (high), although this was from a "presence/absence survey" which does not use rigorous density survey techniques. So there could be even more tortoises. Even 20 per square mile is over the qualifications to designate this area as Critical Habitat. The surveyors suggested that a suitable relocation site(s) would be to just move the tortoises to the side of the project. We think that is probably not a great idea.
NextLight needs to carry out more thorough surveys, as this area is extremely good tortoise habitat, currently undisturbed.
See the biological contractor report pdf >>here.
See also this excellent video The Heat Is On: Desert Tortoises and Survival, by Stephen M. Wessells and Steven E. Schwarzbach, prepared by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, >>here. The video mentions renewable energy threats to the tortoise, showing solar technology identical to that proposed for the NextLight site.
NV Energy Signs Power Purchase Agreement
February 19, 2010 -
NV Energy and NextLight Renewable Power LLC, have announced a 25-year contract for the purchase and sale of 50 MW (out of 400 total) of energy to be produced at NextLight's Silver State Solar Power photovoltaic facility near Primm, Nevada. The project will interconnect with NV Energy's Bighorn substation adjacent to the project site. The rest of the 400 MW has not yet been spoken for.
The Nevada Renewable Energy Act mandates 6 percent of the total renewable energy credits to come from solar resources. The long-term agreement stems from NV Energy's 2009 Request for Proposals for renewable energy and requires approval by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada.
From discussions with the Las Vegas office of Bureau of Land Management, and Renewable Energy World.com
Scoping Comments Dedline Extended
September 17, 2009 -
BLM extended public comments before preparing its Draft Enironmental Impact Statement on the NextLight Projects. The new deadline is October 19, 2009. Comments may be submitted in writing to the Bureau of Land Management, Attn: Gregory Helseth, Renewable Energy Project Manager, 4701 North Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130–2301, NV 89049; by fax 702-515–5010 (attention Gregory Helseth); or e-mail to Nextlight_Primm_NV_SEP@blm.gov, or solar_millennium@blm.gov.
