Nevada utility awarded over $80M to create new solar plant in Pahrump

from KSNV – 3

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — A Southern Nevada utility has been awarded $80.3 million to build a new solar generating and storage plant in Pahrump.

Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada, announced in a joint statement that Valley Electric Association will receive the grant.

Funding from the U.S. Agriculture Department will go toward installing a 37-megawatt solar power generation and storage system serving Pahrump and the Fish Lake Valley Region.

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“Nevada is one of the solar capitals of the world, and this investment will deliver clean, reliable energy to rural Nevadans while lowering costs and creating good-paying jobs,” Cortez Masto said in a statement.

In addition to strengthening the energy grid, the senators say a new plant will create new jobs and lower rates for VEA customers.

The funding comes from the USDA’sPowering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) program, which is funded in part by the Inflation Reduction Act.