Developers of a proposed 850 MW solar plant in the desert north of Las Vegas withdrew an application with the Bureau of Land Management in the wake of local opposition.
The “Battle Born Solar Project” would have been built by Arevia Power and Solar Partners VII LLC on a hilltop in Moapa Valley, which is administered by the bureau. A group of residents argued that the array would be an eyesore and could hurt area recreational activities.
The proposed plant would have covered more than 14 square miles. News reports said that Gov. Steve Sisolak wrote to federal officials in 2020 asking that they fast-track the project.
Arevia Power is involved in the $1 billion, 690 MW Gemini solar-plus-storage project, also north of Las Vegas.
Mark Boyadjian, managing partner, led power purchase agreement talks for the Gemini contract with local utility NV Energy, and for Gemini’s development capital fundraising from Quinbrook. Ricardo Graf, Arevia’s chief development officer and managing partner, came up with the project idea and acts as representative for development-related activities associated with the project.
The Gemini project will use Maxeon Solar Technologies’ bifacial Performance 5 UPP solar panel. Gemini is being built by, and will be owned and operated by, Primergy Solar.
The module supply agreement calls for nearly 1.8 million panels to be supplied over a four-quarter period starting in the second quarter of 2022; project completion is planned by the end of 2023. Gemini also includes a 380 MW/1,400 MWh battery energy storage component.
