HAYLEY WILLIAMSON STATE OF Chair C.J. MANTHE Commissioner PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION STEVE SISOLAK TAMMY CORDOVA Governor Commissioner

STEPHANIE MULLEN Executive Director

February 9, 2021 Brenda Erdoes, Director Legislative Counsel Bureau Nevada Legislature Capitol Complex Carson City, Nevada 89710

Re: Report to Legislature on Transmission pursuant to NRS 704.754

Dear Ms. Erdoes:

Pursuant to NRS 704.754, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada ("Commission") is required on or before February 15 of each odd-numbered year to review, approve and submit to the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau for transmittal to the next regular session of the Nevada Legislature a written report compiling all information about any transmission plan proposed by, adopted by, or made known to the Commission since the last report. This Report is submitted in compliance with NRS 704.754.

The Report compiles information on projects made known to the Commission through the Utility Environmental Protection Act ("UEPA") process and utility transmission plans filed with the Commission by regulated utilities over the last biennium. The Commission takes no position regarding whether the projects listed in the Report will be constructed.

Please be advised that NRS 704.865(d) exempts from its requirements transmission projects involving utility facilities that will be wholly owned by cooperatives, nonprofit corporations, or associations on federal lands and are subject to the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4321 §§ et seq. Consequently, the Commission has not been formally noticed ofsuch projects, and they are not included with this Report.

Finally, NRS 704.754 provides that the Commission submit all information about any transmission plan. The Commission respectfully submits that the transmission plans filed with the Commission discussed herein are voluminous, including detailed multi-volume engineering and environmental studies. Therefore, the Commission has not included all of the information submitted with transmission plans. However, this information is available within the respective dockets on the

NORTHERN NEVADA OFFICE SOUTHERN NEVADA OFFICE 1150 East William Street 9075 West Diablo Drive, Suite 250 Carson City, Nevada 89701-3109 Las Vegas, Nevada 89148 (775)684-6101 • Fax (775) 684-6110 http://puc.nv.gov (702)486-7210 • Fax (702) 486-7206 Commission's website at www.puc.nv.gov. The Commission will gladly provide any assistance the Legislature requires to access this information should further detail be desired.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns regarding the Report.

Sincere!

Stephanie Mullen Executive Director

Enc. The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada "Biennial Transmission Projects Report 2019-2020" (NRS 704.754)

UEPA Application Projects

Under the Utility Environmental Protection Act ("UEPA"), the Commission is able to assess the siting of utility facilities in Nevada, including electric transmission facilities. Nevada Revised Statute ("NRS") 704.860(2) (a) defines a transmission facility as a transmission line or substation in excess of 200 kilovolts ("kV"). This definition includes generation-tie ("gen-tie") lines that run from the generator to a utility's transmission grid. Gen-tie lines are not typically considered to be transmission facilities by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC"), which is responsible for the regulatory oversight of transmission facilities.

From January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2020, the Commission has been made aware of the following UEPA projects related to new transmission projects. The Commission does not know which of the projects listed in the UEPA applications will be permitted and constructed.

PUCN Date Filed Description of the Application/Notice Docket No. 1 19-02010 2/15/2019 Notice by EDF Renewables Development, Inc., under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the Red House Solar project consisting of an up to 500 MW photovoltaic solar electric generating facility, a 345 kV generation-tie transmission line, and associated facilities to be located in Humboldt County, Nevada. 2 19-04011 4/08/2019 Amended Application of Copper Mountain Solar 5, LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, for a permit to construct the Copper Mountain Solar 5 Project consisting of a 250 MW alternating current solar photovoltaic electric generating facility, an optional energy storage system, a 230 kV generation-tie power line, and associated facilities to be located in Boulder City, Nevada. 3 19-04028 4/26/2019 Application of Harry Allen Solar Energy LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, for approval to construct a 230 kV transmission line, new 230 kV substation interconnection equipment at the existing Harry Allen Substation, and associated facilities to be located within the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone approximately 15 miles northeast of Las Vegas in Clark County, Nevada. 4 19-07018 7/25/2019 Application of GridLiance West LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, for permits to construct the Trout Canyon Substation consisting of a new 230 kV substation, a 230 kV transmission line, and associated facilities to be located approximately 10 miles southeast of Pahrump in Clark County, Nevada. 5 19-10004 10/07/2019 Notice by Arrow Canyon Solar, LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct a 200 MW photovoltaic solar energy generation facility, generation-tie transmission lines, and associated facilities to be located approximately 25 miles northeast of Las Vegas in Clark County, Nevada. 6 19-10027 10/31/2019 Application of 325MK 8me LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, for a permit to construct the Eagle Shadow Mountain Interconnection Facilities consisting of a 230 kV terminal addition and associated facilities within the Reid Gardner Substation located in Clark County, Nevada. 7 19-11014 11/14/2019 Notice by Hamel Renewables, LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the Rough Hat Nye County Solar Project consisting of an up to 500 MW photovoltaic solar energy generation facility, generation-tie transmission lines, and associated facilities to be located in Nye County, Nevada. 8 19-11015 11/14/2019 Notice by Hamel Renewables, LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the Rough Hat Clark County Solar Project consisting of an up to 400 MW photovoltaic solar energy generation facility, generation-tie transmission lines, and associated facilities to be located in Clark County, Nevada. 9 20-04011 4/08/2020 Application of Pershing Solar, LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, for permits to construct the Pershing Solar Project consisting of a 240 MW alternating current photovoltaic solar electric generating facility, a 180 MW battery energy storage system, transmission lines, a generator-tie line, and associated facilities to be located approximately 4 miles north of Lovelock in Pershing County, Nevada. 10 20-04017 4/13/2020 Notice by Solar Partners VII, LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct an up to 850 MW photovoltaic solar energy generating facility, including an 850 MW battery energy storage system, and associated facilities to be located approximately 45 miles north of Las Vegas in Clark County, Nevada. 11 20-06037 6/26/2020 Notice by 326FW 8me LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the Arida-Mohave Transmission Project consisting of a 500 kV transmission line associated with the Arida Solar Project, to be located near Laughlin in Clark County, Nevada. 12 20-07024 7/20/2020 Notice by Nevada Power Company d/b/a NV Energy and Sierra Pacific Power Company d/b/a NV Energy, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the Greenlink North Transmission Line Project consisting of the expansion of the Robinson Summit substation, a new Lander substation, a new Fort Churchill-Robinson Summit 525 kV transmission line, and associated facilities to be located in White Pine, Eureka, Lander, Churchill, and Lyon Counties, Nevada. 13 20-07025 7/20/2020 Notice by Nevada Power Company d/b/a NV Energy and Sierra Pacific Power Company d/b/a NV Energy, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the Greenlink West Transmission Line Project consisting of the expansion of the Harry Allen switching station, expansion of the Northwest, Comstock Meadows, and Mira Loma substations, new Amargosa and Esmeralda collector substations, a new Fort Churchill substation, a new Fort Churchill-Northwest 525 kV transmission line, a new Harry Allen-Northwest 525 kV transmission line, a new Comstock Meadows-Fort Churchill 345 kV transmission line, a new Fort Churchill-Mira Loma 345/120 kV transmission line, and associated facilities to be located in Clark, Nye, Esmeralda, Mineral, Lyon, Storey and Washoe Counties, Nevada. 14 20-07029 7/24/2020 Notice by Aurora Solar LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct a 115 kV generation- tie line, a 34.5 kV collector line, and access road associated with the Iron Point II Solar Project to be located approximately 30 miles east of Winnemucca in Humboldt County, Nevada. 15 20-07030 7/24/2020 Notice by Aurora Solar LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct a 345 kV generation- tie line, a 34.5 kV collector line, and access road associated with the Hot Pot Solar Project to be located approximately 30 miles east of Winnemucca in Humboldt County, Nevada. 16 20-09003 9/03/2020 Application of GridLiance West LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, for permits to construct upgrades to the existing Gamebird Substation consisting of the expansion of the substation by approximately 14 acres, a 230 kV transmission line, and associated facilities to be located south of Pahrump in Nye County, Nevada. 17 20-09005 9/04/2020 Notice by EDF Renewables Development, Inc., under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the Playa del Sol Solar Project consisting of an up to 120 MW photovoltaic solar electric generating facility and associated facilities to be located in Clark County, Nevada. 18 20-09012 9/16/2020 Notice by Libra Solar LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the Libra Solar Project consisting of a 700 MW photovoltaic solar electric generating facility, a 700 MW battery energy storage system, and associated facilities to be located approximately 11 miles southeast of Yerington in Mineral County, Nevada. 19 20-09013 9/17/2020 Notice by Pantheon Solar LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the Pantheon Solar Project consisting of a 1,000 MW photovoltaic solar electric generating facility, a 1,000 MW battery energy storage system, and associated facilities to be located approximately 15 miles west of Ely in White Pine County, Nevada. 20 20-10004 10/05/2020 Notice by Boulder Flats Solar, LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct an approximately 10-mile long 230 kV transmission line to interconnect to the Boulder Flats Solar Project to be located near Boulder City in Clark County, Nevada. 21 20-10024 10/22/2020 Notice by Copper Rays Solar, LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the Copper Rays Solar Project consisting of a 700 MW photovoltaic solar electric generating facility, a 700 MW battery energy storage system, an approximately 4-mile long 230 kV generation-tie line, and associated facilities to be located approximately 8 miles southeast of Pahrump in Nye County, Nevada. 22 20-10026 10/28/2020 Notice by Bonanza Peak Solar, LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct an approximately 8.5-mile long 230 kV generation-tie line and associated facilities to be located in Nye and Clark Counties, Nevada. 23 20-10027 10/28/2020 Notice by Boulevard Associates, LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct a 200 MW photovoltaic solar electric generating facility, an up to 200 MW battery energy storage system, either an approximately 11-mile long or 0.5-mile long 345 kV generation-tie line, and associated facilities to be located in Washoe County, Nevada. 24 20-10028 10/28/2020 Notice by Nevada Power Company d/b/a NV Energy, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the Reid Gardner to Tortoise 230 kV #2 Transmission Line Project consisting of a 2.7-mile 230 kV overhead transmission line and associated facilities to be located approximately 52 miles northeast of Las Vegas in Clark County, Nevada. 25 20-11009 11/12/2020 Notice by Stagecoach Wind 1 LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the Stagecoach Wind Project consisting of a 400 MW wind energy generating facility, a 400 MW battery energy storage system, a 230 kV transmission line, and associated facilities to be located in White Pine County, Nevada. 26 20-11010 11/12/2020 Notice by Grass Valley Solar, LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the Grass Valley Solar Project consisting of a 300 MW photovoltaic solar electric generating facility, an up to 300 MW battery energy storage system, a 345 kV generation-tie line, and associated facilities to be located in Pershing County, Nevada. 27 20-11012 11/13/2020 Notice by Boulevard Associates, LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the Mason Valley East Solar Energy Center Project consisting of a 400 MW photovoltaic solar electric generating facility, an up to 400 MW battery energy storage system, a 500 kV generation-tie line, and associated facilities to be located in Lyon County, Nevada. 28 20-11013 11/13/2020 Notice by Boulevard Associates, LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the Mason Valley North Solar Energy Center Project consisting of a 200 MW photovoltaic solar electric generating facility, an up to 200 MW battery energy storage system, a 500 kV generation-tie line, and associated facilities to be located in Lyon County, Nevada. 29 20-11023 11/24/2020 Notice by White Pine Waterpower, LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the White Pine Pumped Storage Hydro Project consisting of a 1000 MW closed-loop pumped hydroelectric energy storage facility, a 345 kV generation-tie line, and associated facilities to be located in White Pine County, Nevada. 30 20-12004 12/2/2020 Notice by Bonanza Solar, LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the Bonanza Solar Project consisting of a 300 MW photovoltaic solar electric generating facility, a battery energy storage system, a 230 kV generation-tie line, and associated facilities to be located in Clark and Nye Counties, Nevada. 31 20-12021 12/21/2020 Notice by Holeshot Energy Storage LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, of an application to a federal agency for approval to construct the Holeshot Storage Project consisting of a 100 MW/400 MWh battery energy storage system, a 138 kV transmission line, and associated facilities to be located in Clark County, Nevada. 32 20-12032 12/30/2020 Application of CED Rock Springs Solar, LLC, under the provisions of the Utility Environmental Protection Act, for a permit to construct the Rock Springs Solar Project consisting of an up to 120 MW photovoltaic solar electric generating facility, a 345 kV on-site substation, a 345 kV generation-tie line, an up to 84 MW battery energy storage system, and associated facilities to be located in Washoe County, Nevada. Transmission Projects Approved by the Commission and Project updates

From January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2020, the Commission processed applications addressing the following transmission projects. The following projects are current projects that have been brought to the Commission by Nevada Power Company ("NPC") and Sierra Pacific Power Company ("SPPC") for approval:

33 19-05003 5/1/2019 Joint Application of Nevada Power Company d/b/a NV Energy and Sierra Pacific Power Company d/b/a NV Energy for approval of the second amendment to its 2018 Joint Integrated Resource Plan to update and modify the load forecast, the Demand-Side Management Action Plan, the generation portion of the Supply-Side Action Plan, and the Transmission Action Plan. 34 19-06039 6/24/2019 Joint Application of Nevada Power Company d/b/a NV Energy and Sierra Pacific Power Company d/b/a NV Energy for approval of the third amendment to its 2018 Joint Integrated Resource Plan to update and modify the renewable portion of the Supply-Side Action Plan and the Transmission Action Plan. 35 20-07023 7/20/2020 Joint Application of Nevada Power Company d/b/a NV Energy and Sierra Pacific Power Company d/b/a NV Energy for approval of the fourth amendment to its 2018 Joint Integrated Resource Plan to update and modify the renewable portion of the Supply-Side Action Plan and the Transmission Action Plan.

In Docket No. 19-05003, NPC and SPPC requested and received approval to amend their 2019- 2021 Transmission Action Plan to: • Expend approximately $7.5 million to increase the footprint of the Olinghouse 345 kV substation to allow a solar photovoltaic plus batter storage facility to interconnect into SPPC's transmission system; • Expend approximately $31.214 million to construct a new Comstock Meadows Substation and two expend approximately $18,470 million to construct a 345 kV transmission line from East Tracy to Comstock Meadows Substations to increase transmission capacity in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center; • Expend approximately $845,000 to conduct routing and constraint studies for a new major northern Nevada transmission interconnection, a transmission hub at Ft. Churchill, and three new transmission lines: from Robinson Summit Substation to Ft. Churchill Substation; from Harry Allen Substation to Ft. Churchill; and from Ft. Churchill to the Reno 345 kV system; • Expend approximately $24,880 million to construct a new Shaffer 345 kV Substation and line fold on the Hilltop to Ft. Sage 345 kV line to provide a second point of service to Lassen Municipal Utility District in ; • Expend S4.70 million to commence routing and siting for an additional transmission source into the West Henderson area; and • Expend approximately $25,338 million to construct network upgrades including the new Carson Lake 230-kV Substation in a six-breaker ring, breaker-and-a-half configuration. In Docket No. 19-06039, NPC and SPPC requested and received approval to amend their 2019- 2021 Transmission Action Plan to: • Expend approximately $ 1.3 million to construct network upgrades needed to support the interconnection of the Moapa Solar project at the Harry Allen Substation; • Expend approximately $3.67 million to construct network upgrades needed to interconnect the Southern Bighorn Solar project at the Reid Gardner Substation; • Expend approximately $9.93 million to construct network upgrades needed to support the interconnection of the Gemini Solar project at the Crystal 230 kV Substation; and • Expend approximately $ 13.42 million to construct a new 230 kV substation at the Apex Industrial Park.

In Docket No. 20-07023, NPC and SPPC requested approval to amend their 2019-2021 Transmission Action Plan. The Commission split the proceedings into two phases. Phase I addresses the amendments to the 2019-2021 Transmission Plan regarding the following: approval of a settlement agreement between Nevada Power Company and the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, upgrades to the existing Machacek Substation, construction of a new substation located along the existing Arden to Avera transmission line, expansion of the Round Mountain Substation, and network upgrades to support the interconnection of the Dry Lake and Chuckwalla Solar projects. Phase II addresses the amendments to the 2019-20201 Transmission plan regarding Greenlink Nevada Phases I and II and construction of a transmission line from Fort Churchill to Comstock Meadows Substations. The Commission issued an order for Phase I on December 1, 2020. The Commission is scheduled to issue an order for Phase II by the end of March 2021.

In Phase 1 of Docket No. 20-07023, NPC and SPPC requested and received approval to amend their 2019-2021 Transmission Action Plan to: • Expend approximately $22.16 million to construct network upgrades needed to interconnect the Chuckwalla Solar project; • Expend approximately $2.1 million to construct network upgrades needed to interconnect the Dry Lake Solar project; • Expend approximately $ 10.2 million for the construction of transmission facilities associated with a new substation to be located along the existing Arden to Avera transmission line; and Expend approximately $2.8 for the transmission facilities associated with expanding the Round Mountain 230 kV Substation.

Other Developments

The transmission projects listed below were not brought before the Commission for integrated resource plan approval. Even though these projects may have been included in a previous Transmission Report, they are important projects that are expected to affect future economic benefits and/or increase transmission capacity to the state Nevada. Consequently, updates to these projects align with the intent of this transmission report and, therefore, a refreshed update is provided below.

Trans West Express Transmission Project: Planning for this project began in 2007 with the goal of transporting Wyoming renewable energy to the southwest states. The project is now touted as having the ability to send and receive power from/to the Rocky Mountain region. The project is an interconnection project that extends from Wyoming through and then to the Market Place transmission hub in southern Nevada, which provides interconnection into Nevada, , and California. On December 13, 2016, following environmental review, the project received approval from the Bureau of Land Management. The Trans West Express Project, per the project website, is currently expected to be constructed in the 2020-2022 timeframe and is projected to be in service prior to 2030.

DesertLink Transmission Project: In December 2014, the CAISO Board of Governors approved the 60 mile 500 kV line between the Harry Allen Substation and the Eldorado Substation as part of the 2013-2014 Transmission Plan. The project was estimated to cost $182 million and was to be paid for by CAISO customers. In 2016, following a competitive bid process, DesertLink, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of LS Power Associates, was approved to finance, construct, own, operate, and maintain the Harry Allen -Eldorado project. This project will allow greater access to generation resources located in Nevada. Construction of the project per the DesertLink website is began in Q3 of 2018 and was placed into service Q3 of 2020.

GridLiance West - Valley Electric Transmission Reliability Project: In 2017, GridLiance West acquired Valley Electric Association's high voltage transmission. In Docket No. 20-09003, GridLiance West stated that the California Independent System Operator awarded it a transmission reliability project to increase the reliability within Valley Electric Association's service territory. Specifically, GridLiance West proposes to upgrade its Gamebird Substation to add 230 kV transmission service and construct a 0.23-mile 230 kV transmission line connecting the Gamebird Substation the Pahrump Substation and to the Sloan Canyon 230 kV Switchyard.