About Nevada

The Nevada Army National Guard’s (NVARNG) Super Solar Project is a renewable energy project developed by Chief Warrant Officer Two James Groth, who is now the Director of the Nevada State Energy Office. Currently, Phase I is under construction while Phase II is in the planning stage.

Phase I involves changing the landscape at three large readiness center sites in Carson City, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas. The existing parking lots at these sites are being leased to Sierra Nevada Corporation, which is constructing 1.2 megawatts of photovoltaic production at Carson City and 540 kilowatts each at the other two sites. The NVARNG Soldiers will park under covered parking comprised of an array of solar panels. By feeding power back into the electric grid, the renewable energy produced enables the NVARNG to spin their electric meter backwards during peak production times. State and federal taxpayers benefit by the reduced power costs for a government agency, while both the Sierra Nevada Corporation and NVARNG benefit by sharing in Nevada Energy’s renewal energy program, which provides rebates of $4.60/watt. Completion of this phase is scheduled for July of 2010.

Phase II will involve a much larger solar array on several hundred acres in North Las Vegas. Once complete, the NVARNG and Nellis Air Force Base will benefit directly with renewable energy generation on or adjacent to military property.

The NVARNG also partnered with eight public agencies and non-profit organizations to support marsh habitat and provide outdoor education opportunities for Reno’s schoolchildren, by creating the Swan Lake Nature Study Area. For the past 10 years, they have helped save 1,800 acres of land from development, and changed what was viewed as an overlooked patch of marshy land into a first-class outdoor education center. Fifty acres of the National Guard’s Stead Training Center comprise the new Swan Lake Nature Study Area, a wetland that attracts tundra swans and more than 130 other species of migratory birds. The area consists of permanent wetlands of 50-100 acres during drought conditions and 1,000 acres during high water cycles. 100 percent of the land use at Swan Lake is dedicated to nature conservation and research.