18 potential Cogentrix solar plants in Nevada get the axe

The Dept. of Interior denies Cogentrix solar projects in NevadaCogentrix Energy, LLC, a subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., is in the process of having most—if not all—of it’s applications for massive solar projects on federally managed land in Nevada denied. In all, the company applied for 18 projects covering142,000 acres in Nevada.

The company had applied for more solar projects in Nevada than any other company, according to the Associated Press. “For years Goldman's Cogentrix Solar Services, LLC held exclusive rights to develop solar plants on nearly as much federal land in Nevada as all other companies combined—even though the firm had neither written plans nor inked agreements with utilities to buy the power they proposed to make,” according to AP. The news service the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) leasing system was based on a first-come, first-served leasing system.

That’s not necessarily the case said BLM spokesperson David Quick.

“Cogentrix filed on lands that already had other applications. In many cases, they had filed on lands that already had other applications in case they fell through,” he said.

Cogentrix applied to develop most of the lands in Nevada in 2007 and 2008.

The first applicant for a project on a parcel of BLM has to submit a $50,000 initial cost recovery deposit and complete a plan of development, according to Quick.

The applications are subject to due diligence requirements and deadlines for both the deposit and development plans, he said.

“Failure to do this could cause rejection,” he said.

Still, others can apply for projects on the same lands.

“We did not lock out other companies from bidding on those sites. We did often submit applications that were known as ‘overfile’ applications for sites,” said Goldman spokesperson Ed Canaday.

“Cogentrix unsuccessfully bid power projects to various utilities from four of the six Nevada BLM sites,” Canaday said. “The major impediments were, among other things, absence of necessary electrical transmission and environmental complications.”

Now the BLM is finishing up its end on the projects.

"We have just about wrapped up rejecting the last of the Cogentrix applications," Gregory Helseth, BLM's renewable energy projects manager for southern Nevada, told AP. "[The company] never showed a desire to move forward on their solar applications. They didn't turn in the required paperwork, or show an interest.”

The AP said that Helseth tried repeatedly to get Cogentrix to file plans for its sites in Nevada or withdraw its applications so other developers could begin planning.

However, Cogentrix said it had contacted BLM about its proposals.

“By December of 2010, we had notified Nevada BLM of our desire to relinquish rights to three sites,” Canaday said. “In addition, we had requested a reduction of acreage subject to the rights of way granted on the three remaining sites.”

The BLM is now working to revise how it permits land for solar leases.

The agency’s proposed Solar Energy Zones, lands designated for solar farms in the U.S. Southwest, are being evaluated for project viability before companies apply to develop projects on land that might not be suitable.

Previously, the BLM let companies apply for projects and then conducted the studies, an approach that may have encouraged speculation, like Cogentrix may have done.

The BLM also has issued new due diligence policies for solar projects, Quick said.

The new guidelines were developed to encourage more coordination with project stakeholders and to increase due diligence in the application process, he said.

Image courtesy of Cogentrix.