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Following December’s announcement that Tonopah Solar, a wholly owned subsidiary of SolarReserve, and NV Energy, had signed a 25-year power purchase agreement, the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project has received approval from the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN). The proposed 100MW concentrating solar (CSP) project will be located near Tonopah, in Nye County, Nevada, and supply around 480,000MW hours of solar energy per year.

“We are extremely pleased that NV Energy received approval from the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada to move forward on this important energy project,” said Kevin Smith, SolarReserve’s CEO. “Solar energy, and particularly solar energy with thermal storage, can help meet Nevada’s renewable energy objectives while at the same time stimulate the economy by creating solid jobs in the state.”

The Crescent Dunes project uses an advanced molten salt system technology, which allows for up 10 hours of solar energy to be stored and used to generate electricity when there is cloud cover, in the evening hours, and when there are peak demand periods. SolarReserve is looking to complete environmental approvals by the end of this year and hold a two-year construction period. The facility will have an estimated operating budget of more than US$5 million.