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NV — Power Infrastructure Updated January 2026

Nevada

Power generation, transmission, storage, and interconnection topics relevant to data center power supply in Nevada.

WECC Natural Gas Solar Geothermal Storage Data Center PPAs Queue Bottlenecks Transmission Constraints

Overview

Nevada is racing to connect its isolated northern and southern grids while building over a gigawatt of solar-plus-storage capacity. The Greenlink transmission system will nearly double Northern Nevada’s import capacity by 2027, but until then a single 525 kV line is the only north-south tie. Google has already locked in 115 MW of enhanced geothermal power from Fervo Energy, signaling that tech companies see Nevada as a viable data center power market once transmission constraints ease.

Generation Projects

Natural Gas

NV Energy’s 2024 IRP (integrated resource plan — a utility’s long-term blueprint for meeting demand) includes natural gas peaking plants to backstop intermittent renewables.

  • North Valmy peaking units: ~400 MW of gas peakers co-located at the North Valmy Generating Station, targeting summer 2028 to serve Northern Nevada reliability needs.[1]

Solar

Nevada’s solar pipeline is dominated by large-scale projects paired with four-hour battery storage.

  • Libra Solar: Up to 700 MW solar + 700 MW storage on BLM land in Mineral County; NEPA review completed in 2024 and project is in NV Energy’s procurement pipeline.[1][3]
  • Dry Lake East: 200 MW solar + 200 MW battery (800 MWh) expected in service by end of 2026 in Clark County.[1]
  • Boulder Solar III: 128 MW solar + 128 MW battery (511 MWh) targeting June 2027 in Boulder City’s El Dorado Valley.[1]
  • Gemini Solar + Storage (operational): 690 MW solar paired with 380 MW battery (1,400 MWh) near Las Vegas; one of the largest co-located solar-plus-storage projects in the U.S., brought online in 2024.[4]

Geothermal

Google’s 2025 power supply agreement with NV Energy adds 115 MW of enhanced geothermal from Fervo Energy to the grid, delivering around-the-clock clean power to Google’s Nevada data centers and cloud region.[9]

Wind

Wind development has stalled. The BLM denied the right-of-way application for the 500 MW Crescent Peak Wind project near Searchlight in 2024, leaving Nevada with a thin near-term wind pipeline.[5]

Transmission and Grid

Nevada’s grid is split into northern and southern systems with only one existing link — a reliability constraint that Greenlink is designed to fix.

  • Greenlink West: A 472-mile, 525 kV line between Las Vegas and Reno; the federal Record of Decision was issued September 9, 2024, and the project is moving toward construction.[6]
  • Greenlink North: A ~235-mile, 525 kV line from Ely to Yerington with new substations; Draft EIS issued September 2024, with Final EIS and Record of Decision pushed into 2025.[7]
  • Northern Nevada import limit: Currently capped at 1,275 MW and fully allocated; Greenlink West will raise the limit to 2,000 MW by Q1 2027, and Greenlink North will boost it further to 2,800 MW by Q1 2029.[11]
  • Single north-south tie: The ON Line 525 kV is the only existing connection between NV Energy’s northern and southern systems, underscoring the urgency of Greenlink completion.[11]

Battery Storage

NV Energy’s 2024 IRP solar pipeline includes over 1,000 MW of battery storage co-located with over 1,000 MW of solar. Three major solar-plus-storage PPAs (power purchase agreements — long-term electricity contracts) anchor this buildout: Dry Lake East (200 MW/800 MWh), Boulder Solar III (128 MW/511 MWh), and Libra (700 MW/2,800 MWh).[1]

Data Center Power Agreements

  • Google + NV Energy + Fervo: Google’s Nevada energy supply agreement adds 115 MW of enhanced geothermal power to the grid, delivered by NV Energy from Fervo Energy to support Google’s Nevada data centers and cloud region.[9]

Interconnection Queue

Nevada faces the same national queue backlog affecting the entire Western grid. Berkeley Lab’s 2024 “Queued Up” report found ~11,600 active projects representing 1,570 GW of generation and 1,030 GW of storage in interconnection queues nationwide, with the typical project taking nearly 5 years to reach operation in 2023.[10]

Northern Nevada’s 1,275 MW import limit is fully allocated, creating a hard ceiling on new generation until Greenlink West comes online in 2027.[11]

What to Watch

  • Greenlink West construction timeline: Federal permits are in hand as of September 2024; monitor construction progress toward the Q1 2027 in-service date, which will unlock 725 MW of additional import capacity into Northern Nevada.
  • Greenlink North Final EIS: The Draft EIS was issued in September 2024; watch for the Final EIS and Record of Decision in 2025, which will set the stage for the Ely-to-Yerington 525 kV link and another 800 MW of transfer capacity by 2029.
  • Libra Solar permitting-to-construction transition: With NEPA review complete and the project in NV Energy’s 2024 IRP, track whether Libra’s 700 MW solar + 700 MW storage moves to construction on schedule.

Sources

[1] NV Energy. “NV Energy’s 2024 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Info Sheet.” 2024. https://www.nvenergy.com/publish/content/dam/nvenergy/brochures_arch/cleanenergy/IRP-Info-Sheet.pdf (accessed January 8, 2026).

[2] U.S. Energy Information Administration. “Nevada State Energy Profile and Energy Estimates.” Last updated June 20, 2025. https://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.php?sid=NV (accessed January 8, 2026).

[3] Bureau of Land Management. “Libra Solar Project.” NEPA Register project page (last updated September 16, 2024). https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022592/510 (accessed January 8, 2026).

[4] pv magazine USA. “690 MW solar-plus-storage project in U.S. now operational in Nevada.” July 19, 2024. https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2024/07/19/largest-solar-plus-storage-project-in-u-s-now-operational-in-nevada/ (accessed January 8, 2026).

[5] Bureau of Land Management. “Crescent Peak Wind Project.” NEPA Register project page (project status: ROW application denied). n.d. https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/81663/510 (accessed January 8, 2026).

[6] Bureau of Land Management. “Greenlink West Transmission Project.” NEPA Register project page, Record of Decision September 9, 2024 (last updated November 14, 2025). https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2017391/510 (accessed January 8, 2026).

[7] Bureau of Land Management. “Greenlink North Transmission Project.” NEPA Register project page (last updated January 7, 2026). https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2017033/510 (accessed January 8, 2026).

[8] NV Energy. “Greenlink Nevada Updates - September 2024.” September 2024. https://www.nvenergy.com/cleanenergy/greenlink-nevada/greenlink-sept-2024 (accessed January 8, 2026).

[9] Google. “Google’s new model for clean energy approved in Nevada.” May 13, 2025. https://blog.google/feed/nevada-clean-energy/ (accessed January 8, 2026).

[10] Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “Queued Up: 2024 Edition, Characteristics of Power Plants Seeking Transmission Interconnection As of the End of 2023.” April 2024. https://emp.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/2024-04/Queued%20Up%202024%20Edition_R2.pdf (accessed January 8, 2026).

[11] NV Energy (OATI OASIS). “Greenlink Transmission Project: Approach for Posting Total and Available Transfer Capability on the OASIS to Allow Transmission and Interconnection Service Applications.” October 26, 2022. https://www.oasis.oati.com/woa/docs/NEVP/NEVPdocs/Greenlink_TTC_and_ATC_Summary.pdf (accessed January 8, 2026).