GridLiance West President: Proposed Transmission Project Could Enable About 5,850 MW Of Renewable Energy

GridLiance on March 15 said that it is proposing to develop an electric transmission highway — the Silverado Renewables Connection project — that is designed to increase the amount of renewable energy delivered from southwest Nevada to California.

The company noted that the California Public Utilities Commission, as part of its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), has identified more than 2,000 MW of new and low-cost renewable energy generation in southwest Nevada that would help California achieve its climate change goals. GridLiance said that its proposed project is designed to unlock the potential of those resources.

The company also noted that the California ISO will study the commission’s plan and the upgrades needed to increase the transmission capacity to deliver more renewable energy from southwest Nevada to higher-demand areas in California.

The commission, in a Feb. 11 statement, noted that its role in the ISO’s Transmission Planning Process is to select generation and storage resources for the ISO to study for its transmission needs. The commission said that its Feb. 11 decision recommends that the ISO study a transmission plan that includes a base case portfolio with more than 28,000 MW of new greenhouse gas (GHG)-free resources; maps resources to specific locations on the electric grid to minimize local air pollutants in disadvantaged communities and areas with poor air quality; as well as includes two “sensitivity” portfolios that study the transmission needs for two other scenarios, such as an accelerated scenario that meets a 38 million metric ton (MMT) GHG emissions target in 2031, including a portfolio of 20,000 MW of new in-state renewables, more than 10,000 MW of new battery storage; and 3,000 MW of out-of-state renewables.

GridLiance said in its statement that renewable energy developers are awaiting the opportunity to meet California’s growing demand for clean energy, with 3,100 MW of active renewable energy generator interconnection requests to GridLiance’s transmission system in southwest Nevada, which the California commission has identified as being important to the state achieving its goals to reduce carbon emissions.

In a Feb. 19 statement, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak said, in part, “California’s recent action identifying additional renewable energy resources in southern Nevada to help it achieve its climate goals is a critical milestone in our regional approach to combating climate change.”

GridLiance said that the ISO will study the commission IRP this year during its transmission planning cycle, and is expected to finalize its recommendations in March 2022.

As noted on the Silverado Renewables Connection website, the project has three development phases.

In a statement provided to T&D World sister publication TransmissionHub on March 18, GridLiance West (GL West) President Michael Landgraf said that Phase 1, for instance, encompasses the towns of Pahrump and Henderson in Clark County, Nev., involves upgrades to 226 miles of existing 230-kV transmission lines, and enables about 2,600 MW of renewable energy generation