PVTIME - Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners ("Quinbrook"), a
specialist global investment manager focused exclusively on lower carbon and
renewable energy infrastructure investment and operational asset management, is
pleased to announce that the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) and the U.S.
Department of the Interior (“the DOI”) have issued the final Record of
Decision, signed by Interior Secretary David L. Bernhardt, for the $1.1
billion, 690 megawatt (MW) AC Gemini Solar + Battery Storage Project (“Gemini”)
located in Clark County, Nevada.
This Record of Decision formally concludes the federal
authorization and environmental review process for Gemini and is based on the
Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) issued in December 2019 under the
National Environmental Policy Act. The EIS evaluated the potential impact of
the physical, cultural and human environments, discussed alternatives and
mitigation measures and selected a preferred alternative for the project.
“We are very pleased to have reached a satisfying and final
seal of approval from the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land
Management so that we can now take Gemini forward with confidence,” said David
Scaysbrook, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Quinbrook. “This final decision
officially clears the pathway for Quinbrook, and our development partners at
Arevia, to accelerate completion of detailed project designs and procurement
plans for one of the world’s largest renewables projects ever undertaken.
Gemini offers the opportunity to showcase, at an unprecedented scale, what we
believe to be one of the most promising technological advances in coupling
battery storage to utility scale solar power to produce low cost renewable
energy over the long term. Gemini will benefit all Nevadans by supporting jobs,
stimulating the local economy and capturing the state’s abundant solar
resources to deliver low-cost, renewable power to NV Energy customers.”
Added Scaysbrook, “Our partners at Arevia Power, Ricardo
Graf and Mark Boyadjian, have done an absolutely outstanding job in navigating
the various approval processes at a state and federal level to get Gemini
successfully to this point. The process they devised and managed so effectively
will serve as a model for the follow-on projects similar to Gemini we now have
in active development together.”
Gemini is believed to be one of the largest projects of its
kind globally, with plans to host 690MW of solar PV arrays located on up to
7,100 acres, coupled with the latest in battery storage infrastructure. The
project—which is expected to exceed $1 billion in capital expenditure—will
capture and store solar energy during the day and dispatch it during the early
evening peak period when power demand surges in Nevada. The addition of battery
storage to large scale solar generation will enable the long-term reduction of
carbon emissions from existing power generation sources.
In June of 2019, Gemini signed a 25-year Power Purchase
Agreement (PPA) with NV Energy, which means that all of the energy generated by
the project will stay in Nevada and in December 2019, the Public Utilities
Commission of Nevada (“PUCN”) granted approval of
the PPA.
Once built and operational, Gemini is expected to help
reduce carbon emissions by 1.5 million tons per year. Additionally, it is
estimated that Gemini will support nearly 2,385 jobs during construction and
add up to $463 million in economic development value to the Nevada economy. The
Trump administration’s approval demonstrates its commitment to developing
American infrastructure that is environmentally sustainable, and also
demonstrates the value of the streamlined federal procedures that have been put
in place over the last decade, including the Federal Permitting Improvement
Steering Council and the One Federal Decision policy.
“Additional credit is due to the Department of Interior for
their commitment to taking decisive action on Major Infrastructure Projects,
including job-creating projects like Gemini,” added Scaysbrook. The approval of
Gemini was supported in part by effective execution of Executive Order 13783
and Secretarial Order 3355.
