The largest co-located solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) in the United States has officially come online.
Primergy Solar and Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners have announced that the Gemini project is now fully operational in Clark County, Nevada. It is now providing clean and affordable energy to communities in Las Vegas and throughout the region.
“Gemini broke the mold with a historic amount of solar and BESS, backed by the largest tax equity financing of its kind,” said Primergy CEO Ty Daul. “Achieving full commercial operations marks a significant technical and financial milestone for our team. We successfully navigated challenging supply chain and inflation issues through proactive planning and collaboration to bring this project online. We are grateful to our partners and investors for their commitment and shared vision in delivering clean energy to the western US.”
Project Gemini consists of 1.8 million solar panels and can generate up to 690 megawatts, which translates to about 10% of Nevada's peak power demand. The solar arrays have been co-located with 380 MW of 4-hour battery storage which provides state residents with 1,400 MWh of clean energy after sundown. Gemini also includes DC-coupled storage configuration which enables the BESS to charge directly from the solar panels. This results in increased efficiency and maximizing the solar energy storage amount directly on-site.
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Primergy also went to great efforts for proper ecosystem management. For example, the company took measures to leave vegetation in place and it installed the solar panels to follow the ground's natural contours. All told, these efforts reduced the project's land footprint by over 20% thanks to clever design methods. In addition, the project has created around 1,300 union and prevailing wage jobs and contributed an estimated $463 million to the state's economy.
During the project's development phase, Primergy and Quinbrook closed on a $1.9 billion in debt and tax equity financing for the necessary construction and development.
“Quinbrook and Primergy have worked as one team to diligently navigate the inevitable challenges to bringing one of the largest ever solar and storage projects online," says David Scaysbrook, co-founder and managing partner of Quinbrook. "It’s a testament to the hard work and creativity of our teams – along with our many first-rate partners – that Gemini is now playing a meaningful part in delivering clean, affordable power to Las Vegas residents.”
