Power Plants in Nevada: Who Owns Them and Who Oversees Them

Nevada produces electricity from sunlight, underground heat, falling water and natural gas, and its plants sit across some of the emptiest land in the lower 48. This page sorts them by city and county so you can find a facility near you. A listing is only a starting point, though. Knowing which company or agency actually runs a plant saves hours of phone calls, especially when the site is a gated industrial yard with no front desk.

Most generating stations in the state are privately owned. NV Energy, a Berkshire Hathaway Energy company, runs the two main investor-owned utilities: Nevada Power in the south and Sierra Pacific Power in the north. Independent developers own many of the newer solar and geothermal projects and sell the output to those utilities under long-term contracts. Federal agencies, cooperatives and local districts fill in the gaps.

Oversight is divided. The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) regulates the investor-owned utilities, reviews their long-term resource plans and decides rate cases. The Bureau of Consumer Protection, part of the Attorney General's office, represents customers in those proceedings. Air permits come from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, except in Clark County and Washoe County, where county air-quality programs handle them.

Land ownership shapes the map as well. Roughly 80 percent of Nevada is federal land, most of it managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Many solar and geothermal projects therefore sit on leased public land instead of private parcels. That is one reason large plants cluster along highways, transmission corridors and old mining districts.

State policy pushes the mix toward renewables. Nevada's renewable portfolio standard calls for 50 percent of retail electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030, with a goal of zero-carbon power by 2050. That target explains why so many recent entries in our listings are solar arrays and geothermal units rather than gas or coal stations.

Southern Nevada Power Plants: Hoover Dam, Eldorado Valley and the Las Vegas Valley

Roughly three out of four Nevadans live in the Las Vegas area, and Clark County holds the largest concentration of plants to match. The anchor is Hoover Dam, listed under Boulder City. The Bureau of Reclamation owns and operates it on the Colorado River, and the Western Area Power Administration markets its output. The Colorado River Commission of Nevada manages the state's share of that power. Reclamation runs the visitor center and tours, so expect security screening and plan around summer heat.

Solar fills much of the rest of the county. The Apex Solar PV Power Project in Moapa sits in the Apex area north of Las Vegas. Silver State Solar Power South is near Primm, close to the California line. CM48, listed under Searchlight on Eldorado Valley Drive, belongs to the cluster of arrays southeast of Boulder City. Mountain View Solar is in North Las Vegas. The Las Vegas WPCF Solar Plant on East Vegas Valley Drive carries a name that points to a water pollution control facility, which suggests solar built beside a wastewater plant.

Some entries are not what the name first suggests. Nellis Solar PV II is on Nellis Air Force Base, so you cannot simply drive up to it. Goodsprings Waste Heat Recovery, listed in Sandy Valley, captures heat that would otherwise be lost. Mohave, listed in Laughlin, shares its name with the Mohave Generating Station, a coal plant that shut down in 2005. Henderson adds the Saguaro Power Company plant on East Lake Mead Parkway. Directory entries can describe retired or converted sites, so confirm that a facility is operating before you plan a trip.

Northern and Rural Nevada: Geothermal Country, Mining Districts and Small Utilities

North of the Las Vegas Valley the picture changes. The basin-and-range geology puts hot water close to the surface, and Nevada is one of the leading geothermal states in the country. Fallon, in Churchill County, has more listings than any other city outside the Las Vegas area, including the Tungsten Mountain geothermal project. Farther east, Lander County has McGinness Hills 3 near Austin and the TS Power Plant near Battle Mountain, a site long associated with the region's mining industry.

More geothermal sites run across the northern half of the state. Ngp Blue Mountain I is near Winnemucca in Humboldt County. Jersey Valley Geothermal Power Plant is near Imlay in Pershing County. Don A. Campbell 2 is near Luning in Mineral County, and San Emidio is near Gerlach in the Black Rock Desert country. Patua is near Fernley, and Wabuska is near Yerington, both in Lyon County. Carson City lists Brunswick on US Highway 50 East.

Washoe County adds the urban side. Reno has Fleish, listed along Interstate 80, and Sparks has Tracy, listed on Wunotoo Road. Inside Washoe County, the Washoe County Health District's Air Quality Management Division issues air permits instead of the state. Clark County does the same through its own environment department. If an emissions question involves a plant in either county, start with the local program.

Rural service works differently. Outside NV Energy territory, some customers are served by cooperatives and districts such as Valley Electric Association in Pahrump, Overton Power District in the Moapa Valley and Mt. Wheeler Power around Ely. These organisations answer to their own boards, so billing and service questions go to them first. Distances are long in these areas. A call before you drive a hundred miles to a plant is cheap insurance.

Getting Something Done: Practical Steps for Nevada Power Plant Questions

The right first call depends on what you need. These rules of thumb work across most of the state:

Use the city and county listings on this page to narrow your search by location. Then confirm the operator, the current status and any access rules directly with the owner before you visit.

Power plant facilities in Nevada include a mix of federal, state, and municipally owned generation assets that contribute to the region's overall electricity supply. Nevada's energy mix and the number of publicly owned facilities reflect the state's natural resources, regulatory environment, and historical development of its utility infrastructure.

Power Plant locations are available in 29 cities across Nevada. They are spread across 12 counties.

Areas with the highest concentration of power plant locations include Las Vegas, Fallon, Moapa, often reflecting proximity to water resources, fuel supply infrastructure, or industrial demand centers.

Residents of Nevada who are customers of a municipal or public power utility can contact their local power authority for billing assistance, energy efficiency programs, and information about planned outages or infrastructure upgrades in their service area.

Power Plant by Counties

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Residents of Nevada who receive electricity service from a publicly owned utility can visit or contact that utility's customer service office to learn about outage reporting, billing options, and energy assistance programs. For information about a specific power generation facility in Nevada, contacting the state's public utility commission is often the best starting point.

Browse Power Plant by county across Nevada to find the nearest location.

Visiting Nevada Power Plant Sites: What to Expect on the Ground

Nevada's plants are spread out, and the trip is often the hardest part. A drive from Las Vegas to Ely, or from Reno to Winnemucca, covers hours of open desert with few services. Fill the tank in town, carry water, and download offline maps because cell coverage drops out on long stretches of highway.

Season matters too. Summer afternoons in the Las Vegas Valley and Eldorado Valley are dangerously hot, and solar fields offer almost no shade. Spring and fall are better for any site visit. Winter brings snow and ice to northern routes such as US Highway 50 and Interstate 80, so check road conditions with the Nevada Department of Transportation before you leave.

Finally, expect locked gates. Even where a plant has a posted address, the entrance may be a service road with no signage. Call the owner or the local utility office first, and never walk onto a fenced generating site uninvited. Operators have strict safety rules, and some sites sit on military or tribal land with separate access requirements.

Power Plant Questions Nevada Residents Ask

Several bodies share the job. The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada regulates NV Energy's rates and service, reviews its resource plans, and issues permits for the siting of major utility facilities. The Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Attorney General's office speaks for ratepayers in those cases. Air-quality permits come from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, or from the Clark County and Washoe County air programs inside those counties. Federal agencies matter as well: the Bureau of Land Management handles leases on public land, and the Bureau of Reclamation runs Hoover Dam. Cooperatives and municipal systems answer mainly to their own boards.

Hoover Dam is the practical answer. The Bureau of Reclamation runs tours of the dam and powerplant from the visitor center near Boulder City, and visitors go through security screening before entering. Most other plants in our listings, including the solar fields in Eldorado Valley and the geothermal units around Fallon, are secured industrial sites without a public counter. Nellis Solar PV II sits inside Nellis Air Force Base, which is closed to casual visitors. If you want a school or group visit, contact the plant's owner or its utility's community relations office well ahead of time and ask what safety requirements apply.

Nevada has strong sun, hot underground water and a great deal of open federal land. Hot springs and active faulting in the basin-and-range region make geothermal practical near Fallon, Winnemucca and Gabbs, while the southern desert gets some of the best solar exposure in the country. State law adds demand: the renewable portfolio standard calls for 50 percent renewable electricity by 2030. Utilities sign long-term contracts with developers, who build on leased Bureau of Land Management land or private land near transmission lines. Older gas and coal plants still exist, but new construction leans toward solar, geothermal and battery storage.

Start with the company on your bill. NV Energy serves most of the state through Nevada Power in the south and Sierra Pacific Power in the north, and it has outage reporting by phone and online. Outside its territory, cooperatives and districts such as Valley Electric Association in Pahrump, Overton Power District in the Moapa Valley and Mt. Wheeler Power around Ely handle their own outages. In Nye County, where Pahrump, Amargosa Valley and Gabbs are far apart, the right provider depends on where you live. Do not call the generating plant itself, because operators rarely handle customer service.

Contact your utility first and keep a record of the date, the person you spoke with and what was promised. If the problem is still unresolved, you can file a consumer complaint with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, which handles complaints about regulated utilities. The Bureau of Consumer Protection may also help with rate and service issues. For noise, dust or odor from a plant, call the county planning office. For air emissions, contact Clark County, the Washoe County Health District or the state environmental division, depending on location. Cooperatives and municipal utilities have their own board processes, so ask for their meeting schedule.

Many Nevada plants sit miles from the nearest street grid, so listings often use road names, highway numbers or a mailing address. San Emidio is listed with a post office box in Gerlach, which shows where mail goes but not where the plant is. Gabbs and Goodsprings Waste Heat Recovery use state route names instead of street numbers. In Lyon County, entries such as Wabuska and Patua are tied to rural roads near Yerington and Fernley. Check satellite maps, the operator's website or a phone call to confirm the entrance before you drive, and carry water and a full tank.