NV Energy’s 400-megawatt solar facility under construction in Churchill County, which includes 1600MW-hours of battery storage, is on track for early completion near the first quarter of 2027.
Courtesy NV Energy
By Rob Sabo
Friday, June 19, 2026
NV Energy’s 400-megawatt solar facility under construction in Churchill County, which includes 1600MW-hours of battery storage, is on track for early completion near the first quarter of 2027.
The Sierra Solar project spans 6,787 acres on the east and west sides of Sagehen Creek Road. The battery energy storage system is already complete, and with infrastructure and materials already in place for construction of the photovoltaic solar array, crews could potentially finish the $1.5 billion facility ahead of its scheduled April 2027 completion date, said Tua Fale, vice president of major projects for NV Energy.
“The battery portion of the project came online March 20, and that’s a great win for the customer,” Fale told NNBW during an interview last week. “As we start to settle the numbers – we’re working through the contractor to true up everything – it is looking to be at the very least on budget, but leaning heavily toward being under budget and early.”
Fale said all the foundation piles for the solar array racking have been installed, and the photovoltaic solar modules have been delivered and moved into place. Other key materials are on site and ready for installation by general contractor Kiewit. During peak construction, the project could employ between 350 and 400 trades workers and suppliers, Fale noted. NV Energy is handling much of the behind-the-scenes work as owner-developer through the Engineering, Procurement and Construction delivery method.
The Sierra Solar project includes the large scale battery storage system, photovoltaic solar array, switch yard, and two transmission lines – one connecting to an NV Energy-owned switch yard, and the other connecting to the existing Tracy-Valmy 345 kilovolt transmission line.
Construction of the facility helps NV Energy meet a state mandate of 50 percent renewable energy generation by the year 2030, Fale added. The massive scale of the solar facility also helped drive down overall project costs, he added.
“Through economies of scale, the larger the project, the per-capita cost for each megawatt goes down,” Fale said. “The larger you’re capable of building a project, the cheaper the project is in regards to energy cost.
“Permitting and land cost goes down, and you get better pricing on solar panels and batteries,” he added.
With more than 300 days of sunshine per year, Nevada’s wide-open high desert valleys are prime sites for solar arrays, and the largest solar facilities in the state are in Clark County. NV Energy draws power from multiple solar arrays in Northern Nevada, including the 200MW Dodge Flat Solar near Wadsworth, 100MW Fish Springs Ranch Solar north of Reno, and 19.5MW Fort Churchill Solar Array in Mason Valley.
The site on Sagehen Creek Road north of Fallon was chosen due to its proximity to Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, which is where power generated from the facility is destined once it comes online, although that energy can easily be routed elsewhere to meet demand once it’s on the energy grid, Fale noted.
Sierra Solar will deliver power to TRIC by connecting to the existing Tracy-Valmy 345 kilovolt power line that runs from the Frank A. Tracy Generating Station east of Reno to North Valmy Generating Station near Battle Mountain. Since it’s about 60 miles east of TRIC, there’s little power lost during transmission, Fale said.
“There is a cost to move electricity, so if you’re able to locate your generation closer to the destination, that also drives the cost down,” Fale said.
Fale said the biggest hurdle that has been overcome, and still presents ongoing challenges, has been the impact of tariffs on imported solar panels. Most of the world’s solar panels are made in China, and administrative trade wars have seen tariffs fluctuate wildly.
Fale said the impact has led to tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars of additional cost – and headache – on the Sierra Solar project.
“Because of their unpredictability and because of the size of the project, the tariffs are massive,” he said. “We’re still trying to figure out how to settle some of those tariffs. We have specific teams dedicated to trying to make sure we are paying the right amount, but there was a time when tariffs were 20 percent, then they would jump up to 40 percent to 100 percent. It was a very chaotic time.”
The Sierra Solar site will be one of the largest solar arrays in Northern Nevada, but the possibility exists to expand the site in the future if warranted. Fale said the current scope of the project could readily be doubled in a second phase of solar development on adjacent land, though it’s currently not planned.
“We have an approach and strategy that takes into account the demand that we’re seeing and anticipating for standard load growth,” he said. “There is an opportunity there. We’re prepared, we’ve found the land, we have the capacity, so that is an option.
“If the lowest-cost opportunity for the customer is to take advantage of the additional land that NV Energy currently has next to the Sierra Solar project, that will be flagged and brought up as a project to be developed and to be built, or to be part of a power purchase agreement where a third party could come in,” he added.
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