A new billion-worth clean energy project to be developed in Reno, Nevada, could be the next Gigafactory, for its size and local impact, said Mike Kazmierski, president and CEO of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada.
The project intends to build a carbon-neutral industrial park in the northern Nevada desert; project’s developers say that it would eventually become the largest in the United states, powered by renewable energy generated locally.
TerraScale is the company to develop the Energos project; the first phase of it will be developed in 5,7 square miles in Churchill County. The company is partnered with AlphaStruxure in the design, the construction and the financing of the project, that will combine solar, wind and geothermal power.
First phase of Energos will begin construction in 2021’s first months, with a $220 million investment, for a 10 acres development. It will be a 20-megawatt, carbon neutral, clean energy-powered data center that initially will use a mix of solar, wind and natural gas.
The second and final phase is expected to be completed by March, 2022. The complete investment for it is expected to rise up to a $1 billion, as it expands its capacity to 100 MW. According to AP News Media, TerraScale is under talks with other companies that want to build their own facilities at the site.
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Biggest clean energy project in Reno, Nevada
When the industrial park is at its maximum scale, it could worth up to $3 billion, Mark Schonberg, CEO of TerraScale said. Some of those companies could make their decisions within a six- or 12-months range.
Because Energos will be powered by local renewable clean energy and not by the federal grid, Schonberg said that, once completed, it will be the largest carbon-neutral industrial development in the whole country “based on megawatts behind the meter.”
“It highlights the fact that Northern Nevada is very welcoming to innovation for doing something new and cutting edge,” said state’s governor Kate Marshall, quoted by AP. “Marshall was especially excited by the idea of using the project as a pilot site for emerging and new clean energy technologies,” the news media remarks.
For Kazmierski, “this project will be in the order of a Tesla Gigafactory, a Switch, an Apple or Google. All the big names as far as the impact on our region. It’s another significant addition to our economy that allows us to continue to diversify and bring quality jobs for years to come.”
