Nellis Solar Power Plant

The Nellis Solar Power Plant is a 14-megawatt (MW) photovoltaic power station located within Nellis Air Force Base in Clark County, Nevada, northeast of Las Vegas. The power plant was inaugurated in a ceremony on December 17, 2007, with Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons activating its full operation. On average, it has since generated 32 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually and supplied more than 25% of the power used at the base.[1][2][3]

Nellis Solar Power Plant
Nellis Solar Power Plant, was the second largest photovoltaic power plant in North America when built
CountryUnited States
LocationNellis Air Force Base, Nevada
Coordinates36°15′30″N 115°03′10″W
Commission dateDecember 17, 2007
Owner(s)MEMC
Solar farm
TypeFlat-panel PV
Site area140 acres (0.6 km2)
Power generation
Units operational72,416
Nameplate capacity14.2 MW
Annual net output32 GWh
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons

Occupying 140 acres (57 ha) of land leased from the Air Force at the northeastern corner of the base, this ground-mounted solar system employs an advanced sun tracking system, designed and deployed by SunPower. The system contains approximately 70,000 solar panels, and the peak power generation capacity of the plant is approximately 13 MWAC.[1] This means the ratio of average to peak output, or capacity factor, of this plant is around 22%.

The energy generated will support more than 12,000 military and civilians at Nellis who are responsible for Air Force advanced combat training, tactics development and operational testing. Construction began on April 23, 2007,[1] and operation of the first 5 MW began on October 12, 2007.[4][5]

Economics

Under the terms of the Power Purchase Agreement, MMA Renewable Ventures, who own the panels, is leasing the land at no cost and Nellis is agreeing to buy the power for 20 years at about 2.2 cents/kW·h, instead of the 9 cents they are paying to Nevada Power, saving the Air Force $1 million each year. None of the $100 million cost came from the Air Force, but instead from subsidizing taxpayers and Nevada Power customers who are paying for the renewable portfolio standard credits.[6]

The partners were able to build the plant, recover costs and produce electricity at a savings, because of the fairly complex financing structure arranged among MMA, its investors, Nevada Power, and Nellis — in addition to multimillion-dollar government incentives.[7]

The plant was expected to produce 30 GWh per year but actually produced about 32 GWh the first year, 8% more than expected,[8] saving the Air Force $1.2 million in the first year of operation.[9]

There is no provision for operation during a power failure, when the base reverts to generator power. This would require limiting the output to less than or equal to what the generators can provide. Otherwise a cloud could pass over and cause the sudden drop in output to overload the generators, causing them to trip off. If a pumped-hydro facility was added in the nearby hills, that would allow the base to operate during power failures under solar power, although batteries would also be needed to allow time for the hydro-electric plant to adjust to the load requirements.[10]

Design

Nellis consists of 5,821 tilted axis, T20 single axis trackers made by Sunpower, and uses 72,416 solar panels, each 200 watts,[11] and 54 Xantrex (Schneider Electric) GT 250 inverters,[12] each rated 250 kW. The maximum output is therefore inverter limited to 13.5 Megawatts (AC). At full output, the inverters are 96% efficient. Approximately 10% of the panels are mounted on North-South oriented horizontal single axis trackers. About one third of the solar panels were made by Suntech Power, the lead supplier.[13]

Renewable portfolio standard
A section of the Nellis Solar Power Plant

In 1999, Nevada passed a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) as part of their 1997 Electric Restructuring Legislation (AB 366). It required any electric providers in the state to acquire actual renewable electric generation or purchase renewable energy credits so that each utility had 1 percent of total consumption in renewables. However, on June 8, 2001, Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn signed SB 372, at the time the country's most aggressive renewable portfolio standard. The law requires that 15 percent of all electricity generated in Nevada be derived from new renewables by the year 2013.[14]

The 2001, revision to the RPS keeps in place Nevada's commitment to expand solar energy resources by requiring that at least 5 percent of the renewable energy projects must generate electricity from solar energy.[14]

In June 2005, the Nevada legislature passed a bill during a special legislative session that modified the Nevada RPS (Assembly Bill 03). The bill extends the deadline and raised the requirements of the RPS to 20 percent of sales by 2015.[14]

Expansion

An extension of the plant called Nellis Solar PV II,[15] which will generate another 15 megawatts of power, began construction on March 24, 2015,[16] and was completed in February 2016.[17]

Presidential visit
President Barack Obama at the Nellis Solar Power Plant in 2009

President Barack Obama visited the facility and addressed an audience of more than 450 people on May 27, 2009.[18][19]

Production
Generation (MW·h) of Nellis Air Force Base Solar Array [20]
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
2007 1,497859398 2,755
2008 5351,2843,1433,9233,9955,1203,6303,3863,3382,3821,136627 32,500
2009 6141,0733,1553,6514,2303,1063,6724,2583,5252,3231,571821 32,000
2010 4438192,0232,5853,6624,3223,3394,2113,9252,3772,2641,330 31,301
2011 1,4471,9402,4323,3923,7454,2863,1353,6812,6322,5351,5531,347 32,125
2012 8421,0991,5872,4503,5933,7103,2883,2283,6723,5662,8892,236 32,159
2013 1,7962,2002,7063,1413,3813,4412,6642,6582,6163,0402,0692,046 31,758
2014 1,5271,5972,3022,4262,8703,2912,8823,1343,2443,2872,7931,849 31,202
2015 1,5212,1342,7673,1302,8673,1592,9252,8762,6522,3412,2281,829 30,428
Total256,227
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See also

References
  1. Largest U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System Begins Construction at Nellis Air Force Base
  2. "Solar power system at Nellis AFB goes live". KVBC. 2007-12-18. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  3. Air Force Switches on Largest Solar Power Plant
  4. "Solar panels connect to base electric grid". Archived from the original on 2016-01-20. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  5. "eXenewable Project Profile Page - Nellis, NV, US, PV". Archived from the original on 2016-04-04. Retrieved 2010-09-22.
  6. Solar panels at Nellis could be win-win
  7. "Construction starts on world's largest solar array". Archived from the original on 2012-03-10. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  8. Nellis Air Force Base solar array provides model for renewable projects
  9. President Obama Visits Nellis PV Plant
  10. Clean energy doesn't always bring security for military
  11. NellisAirForceBaseSolarPowerSystem Archived 2013-01-24 at the Wayback Machine
  12. Xantrex Supplying Solar Inverters for Largest North American Solar PV Installation at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada
  13. China Solar Panel Maker Sets First U.S. Plant
  14. "Renewable Portfolio Standard - Nevada". Archived from the original on 2008-10-13. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
  15. Nellis Solar PV II, Monthly Retrieved 2 March 2016
  16. 15-megawatt solar project starts at Nellis Air Force Base Retrieved 2 March 2016
  17. New 15-Megawatt Solar Plant Operating At Nellis Air Force Base Retrieved 2 March 2016
  18. Nellis tour gives Obama close look at solar future on www.lvrj.com
  19. Nellis Solar Power System Tour
  20. "Nellis Air Force Base Solar Array, Monthly". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
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