Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has aggressively promoted the development of renewable energy in Nevada, may be able to see some tangible results from his home in Searchlight in a few years.
Duke Energy on Thursday said it
proposes to build a wind farm that could cost up to $600 million
dollars and generate 300 megawatts a few miles southeast of Searchlight.
Although Reid neither is an investor in the project nor promoted the particular wind site, he is a supporter.
“Senator Reid likes the project,” said Jon Summers, a spokesman for
the Nevada Democrat. “He thinks it’s a good idea. It’s going to bring
clean energy to Nevada.”
Summers said Duke Energy has worked to resolve concerns in Searchlight.
The project would boost the Searchlight economy. It would employ
hundreds during six to eight months of construction, Duke Energy
Managing Director Robert Charlebois said.
Once completed, it would provide permanent employment for 15 workers, he said.
The project could become a key source of property tax revenue for state and local governments.
Nevada has no operating wind power projects now, but several are under development.
NV Energy Inc., which operates utilities with a similar name, on
Thursday announced it is proceeding with development of the
200-megawatt China Mountain wind project in northeastern Nevada and
southern Idaho.
Analysts generally consider Nevada’s wind energy mediocre compared
with wind energy in states like Wyoming and Texas, although the Silver
State is rich in solar and geothermal resources.
Yet, Charlebois said wind power developers have noticed the potential for wind power in the Searchlight area.
Duke Energy expects tests to demonstrate that the Searchlight project is commercially viable.
Among Searchlight’s strong points for wind energy are proximity to
Las Vegas where population growth creates demand for additional energy
and access to transmission lines.
“We believe that NV Energy (which serves Las Vegas) would be one of
our prime markets for this energy,” Charlebois said. NV Energy needs to
continue increasing its reliance on green power under state law.
Duke Energy is looking at wind sites in a 25,000-acre area
controlled by the Bureau of Land Management, and Charlebois said the
company will need only a small portion of that land for the wind farm.
About 100 to 150 wind turbine towers will reach 260 feet high.
Drivers on U.S. Highway 95 probably will see wind turbines, and said
some turbines may be visible from Searchlight, Charlebois said.
Researchers must determine how much of a threat the turbines pose to
birds, but the area doesn’t appear to be along the route of regular
bird migration, he said.
Charlebois suspects it will take until March 2011 to go through the regulatory review process.