Vidler Water Company, which handles the acquisition of strategic water resources and water storage facilities for the Western part of the United States, recently announced its intent to build a 100-megawatt solar farm at its Fish Springs Ranch in Reno Nevada, the Reno Gazette-Journal recently reported.
The 2,670 acre ranch being considered for the solar farm had originally been purchased by Vidler in 2000 for its water rights and to construct a pipeline. According to Donald Pattalock, the company's vice president for obtaining permits, 200 acres would initially be used for the farm in order to produce 20 megawatts of power before eventually expanding it to encompass 1,000 acres of the farm.
In addition to powering water pumps operated by Vidler, electricity generated by the solar panels would also be sold to NV Power to help it achieve regulations requiring 20 percent of its power to be coming from renewable sources by 2015.
However, before any construction on the farm can begin, the project must first receive a special permit from the Washoe County Planning Commission, where the farm is located.
