NV Energy Takes Steps to Meet Nevada’s Growing Energy Needs, But Plan Leans on New Gas Over Lower-Cost Solutions

Nevada’s largest utility’s resource plan raises concerns about whether the state is prepared for rapid load growth while keeping costs in check for residents  

CARSON CITY, NV—Nevada’s largest utility, NV Energy, filed its 2026 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) with the state’s Public Utilities Commission. Traditionally submitted every three years, this IRP arrives a full year early due to rapidly rising projected energy demand.  

The headline conclusion is massive new growth in demand, driven primarily by new large customers like data centers. NV Energy is projecting nearly 40% increase in peak demand over the next five years. 

To meet this growth, the plan proposes a mix of new resources, including taking advantage of Nevada’s homegrown strengths with 4,500 MW of solar and geothermal resources and 5,000 MW of battery storage.  However, it also proposes adding 1,200 MW of costly and inefficient gas generation, an approach that risks locking in long-term dependency on expensive, volatile, imported fuels at a time when cheaper, more flexible options are increasingly available. Moreover, the plan underinvests dramatically in customer-sited energy, from efficiency to home batteries and electric vehicles. 

Even with an accelerated timeline and clear need for additional planning, the IRP falls short in addressing how NV Energy will meet rising demand with the most affordable, reliable, and readily available energy resources.  

Advanced Energy United’s Senior Director Brian Turner issued the following statement:  

“While it’s encouraging to see NV Energy acknowledge and respond to Nevada’s rapidly growing energy demand, the proposed resource mix should prioritize more affordable and flexible advanced energy solutions as a core planning framework to meet that demand.  

This means that instead of defaulting to building expensive new infrastructure to meet this demand, the utility should embrace  and make use of distributed energy resources, including customer-owned technologies like EV chargers, smart thermostats, rooftop solar, and storage that are already installed in homes and businesses.   

Much of the problem can be traced to NV Energy’s opaque, behind-closed-doors supply procurement practices that raise questions about whether customers are truly getting the most cost-effective options available. Nevada has abundant, clean and cost-effective energy resources and developers and customers deserve transparent, competitive processes that guarantee the lowest cost reliablesupply.”