SolarReserve Signs Power Purchase Contract with NV Energy for Concentrated Solar Power

December 24, 2009 – Vol.14 No.40

SolarReserve Signs Power Purchase Contract with NV Energy for Concentrated Solar Power.

SolarReserve has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with NV Energy for the sale of electricity from SolarReserve’s Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project. Developed and owned by SolarReserve’s subsidiary, Tonopah Solar Energy, LLC, the 100-megawatt solar energy project will be located near the town of Tonopah in Nye County, Nevada. When completed, Tonopah Solar Energy’s facility will supply approximately 480,000 megawatt hours annually of clean, renewable electricity – enough to power up to 75,000 homes during peak electricity periods utilizing its innovative energy storage capabilities.

The project will utilize the advanced molten salt system energy storage technology from United Technologies Corp. (UTC). SolarReserve holds the exclusive worldwide license for this technology. The energy storage technology, developed and tested by Rocketdyne (now part of UTC) can provide electricity reliably during peak demand periods to meet utility requirements whether the sun is shining or not.

NV Energy’s President and CEO Michael Yackira said his company is taking major steps in continuing Nevada’s leadership in the development of renewable energy. “The energy storage characteristics were a key factor in our selection of the Tonopah Solar Energy project and provide a showcase for U.S. technology development in Nevada.”

Crescent Dunes is expected to break ground by the end of 2010, the project will create as many as 450 construction jobs for Nevada during the two-year construction period. It will employ 45 permanent operations staff and will have an annual operating budget of more than $5.0 million, with the majority of that budget spent in the region. In addition, up to 4,000 indirect jobs would be created through the use of locally based suppliers and service providers. The project will generate sales and property tax revenue estimated at more than $40 million over the project operating period.

SolarReserve LLC, headquartered in Santa Monica, California, is a solar energy project development company and holds the exclusive worldwide license to the molten salt, solar power tower technology developed by United Technologies Corporation. Since its formation in late 2007, SolarReserve’s team of power project professionals have assembled a development portfolio of more than 25 projects featuring its licensed solar power technology with potential output of more than 3,000 megawatts in the United States and Europe; with early stage activities in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Australia. SolarReserve’s experienced management team has previously developed and financed more than $15.0 billion in renewable and conventional energy projects in more than a dozen countries around the world.

NV Energy, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, NV Energy, Inc. is a holding company whose principal subsidiaries, Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, are doing business as NV Energy.(12/22/09)

Links:

SolarReserve
http://www.SolarReserve.com

NV Energy
http://www.NVEnergy.com

--- NV Energy: Three Renewable Power Purchase Agreements Approved.

Disclaimer, Forward-Looking or Safe Harbor Statement on original press release: No