NV Energy moves forward with smart grid, renewable power

Sensus has been selected by NV Energy to provide its smart grid solution.  The project is expected to involve up to 1.3 million electric and 155,000 natural gas meters throughout NV Energy’s service territory that covers 54,500 square miles in Nevada and northeastern California.

The massive deployment will benefit NV Energy’s 2.4 million consumers with a cohesive smart grid solution across diverse geographic regions including densely populated Las Vegas and the sparsely populated rural areas in mountainous northern Nevada.

NV Energy was seeking a solution that provided high-bandwidth and support for multiple applications with the proper mix of benefits to the utility and smart grid features, according to Robert Stewart, senior vice president of customer relationships.  “We needed a proven, interoperable, and secure system that would provide a foundation for our long-term smart grid strategy and deliver near term operational savings,” he said.

Stewart added that the FlexNet system from Sensus will help NV Energy develop a closer relationship with its customers, a primary goal.  “Sensus will support NV Energy’s demand response applications for shedding peak summer and winter electric loads and enable advanced applications for distribution automation and distributed generation,” said Peter Mainz, president and chief executive officer of Sensus.

NV Energy will also benefit from the reach and power offered by the FlexNet radio frequency (RF) solution.  FlexNet offers an industry-leading 2 watts of transmission power for the communication of data between NV Energy and its customers.  The RF spectrum is licensed from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide value added features including conservation efforts, customer education, and integration with home area networks (HAN).

FlexNet is also built around an IP-based open architecture to allow for easy integration of new technologies as they are developed.  The system depends on tower base stations that operate as gateways for the data transmissions between customer and provider.  The towers will be installed primarily at NV Energy’s existing substations.

The deployment still awaits all requisite contract and regulatory approvals and negotiation of a final agreement with NV Energy.

NV Energy announced on December 29 that it had agreed to a 25-year contract with the SolarReserve to provide solar power from its Crescent Dunes concentrating solar power (CSP) project.

Nevada currently leads the US states in solar power production per capita and in solar power as a percentage of retail sales.  NV Energy’s contract with SolarReserve is expected to supply 480,000 megawatt hours of clean power annually.

The solar plant is being developed and is owned by Tonopah Solar Energy, a subsidiary of SolarReserve.  The project is expected to begin by the end of 2010 and will create 450 construction jobs in Nevada for the two-year construction period.  The plant will have an operating budget exceeding $5 million and will have a permanent staff of 45.  Some 4,000 supply and service provider jobs could be created once the plant comes into operation.

“The Tonopah project is a significant step in the advancement of clean and reliable solar power for the United States and Nevada and will be a catalyst for new technology manufacturing in the region,” said Kevin Smith, chief executive officer of SolarReserve.  “We are extremely pleased to be working with NV Energy and look forward to the opportunity to work together on additional projects in the future.”

Sensus Metering Systems
8601 Six Forks Road – Suite 300
Raleigh, NC 27615
http://www.sensus.com

NV Energy
PO Box 98910
Las Vegas, Nevada 89151-0001
http://www.nvenergy.com

SolarReserve
2425 Olympic Blvd.
Suite 500 East
Santa Monica, CA 90404
http://www.solar-reserve.com