The Moapa Solar Energy Center Project would develop up to 1,000 acres of the reservation to construct a solar farm capable of generating approximately 200MWs of solar energy. This facility will help to provide a long-term, diverse, and viable revenue stream with accompanying job opportunities for the Moapa Band while also helping Nevada and neighboring states to meet their State renewable energy needs.
The facility will be located in Township 16 South, Range 64 East, Sections 30 and 31 Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada. It will include approximately 850 acres of land entirely located on the Reservation and the corridors for the transmission interconnection and access road located on the Reservation and on Federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
At present the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), as the lead federal agency, with the Moapa Band of Paiutes Indians (Moapa Band), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service (NPS) as cooperating agencies, are intending to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will evaluate the proposed solar energy plant. Ultimately, the plant would incorporate PV panels on single-axis tracking systems, inverters, and an operation and maintenance building. Construction of the PV project is expected to take up to 24 months and is expected to have a project life of 25 years.
Two concentrating solar power (CSP) alternatives are also being considered. One of these would utilise AREVA Solar’s CSP technology and the other eSolar’s CSP plant technology. The CSP project would also include an operation and maintenance facility building along with cooling towers and evaporation ponds and is expected to take up to 36 months to construct with a lifetime of 25 to 30 years.
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