Clean Energy Project Developers
Resources for Project Developers
State Resources:
- Nevada's Renewable Energy Tax Abatement (RETA) program awards partial sales and use tax and partial property-tax abatements to eligible renewable energy facilities. The program is managed by the Governor's Office of Energy.
- Under its Nevada Solar for All (NSFA) program, the Nevada Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) provides financial assistance to (1) rooftop solar for single-family homeowners, (2) solar for multifamily affordable housing, and (3) community solar projects that benefit low-income households.
- The Nevada Geological Survey provides maps and data.
- The latest regulatory proceedings and integrated resource plans from NV Energy are available on the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada website here.
- The Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED): GOED contracts Regional Development Authorities (RDA) to provide services to aid, promote, and encourage the economic development of Nevada.
Federal Resources:
- Renewable energy and energy storage projects can take advantage of federal tax credits.
- The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by the US Congress in 2021 has made significant amounts of funding available for clean energy and grid infrastructure upgrades. The list of funding buckets administered by the US Department of Energy is available here.
How We Work with Developers
The Nevada Clean Energy Fund provides financial and technical support to projects in Nevada that are deploying proven clean energy technologies in the market. Our support is prioritized for projects that have big potential for social and climate impact, and that would otherwise have difficulty accessing capital through traditional financial avenues. We can also serve as an informational resource to all clean energy project developers. Reach out to us with questions and partnership inquiries.
About Nevada's Energy Landscape
Clean Energy
Renewable energy currently supplies ~30% of Nevada's electricity needs, and Nevada has a state-mandated goal of sourcing 100% of its electricity needs from zero-carbon sources by 2050 and a net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions target by 2050. Nevada is a leader in the nation in geothermal and solar electricity generation, ranking second in overall geothermal generation and first in per capita solar generation. Nevada has significant untapped solar, geothermal, wind, and energy efficiency resources that are cost-effective to develop.
Electricity Regulation and Markets
NV Energy is the utility that provides 88% of the state's electricity needs, and the remainder of the state is served by rural electric utilities. NV Energy participates in the California ISO's real-time market known as the Energy Imbalance Market (EIM). In 2021, Nevada's legislature passed a law requiring the state's utilities to join an organized, competitive wholesale electricity market by 2030. These markets, known as RTOs and ISOs, serve two-thirds of the US and help drive electricity costs down, increase grid reliability, and integrate more renewables onto the grid.
Economy & Jobs
Nevada is one of the fastest-growing states by population in the US and is consistently ranked as one of the most business-friendly states due to its large and high-quality workforce, lack of income tax, strategic location, low-cost real estate, and low utility rates. The energy sector employs nearly 33,000 people in Nevada, and this number is growing. The top industries by employment are energy efficiency, battery energy storage, and solar.
Tribes
Nevada is home to 27 Nevada Tribes, bands, and colonies with approximately 1,500 square miles of land. Nevada's Tribal lands are home to several renewable energy projects that generate clean, low-cost electricity and support high-quality jobs, including two utility-scale solar PV projects currently under development on Moapa Band of Paiutes Tribal land.
Other
- Two-thirds of the state of Nevada by acreage is public lands.
- Nevada sources approximately 85% of its energy from out-of-state.
- Learn more about energy programs and trends in the state in the annual status of energy report from the Nevada Governor's Office of Energy.