WASHINGTON, April 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- NV Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NVE) and the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) today announced that NV Energy has been recognized as a national leader in the integration and delivery of solar-based renewable solutions. NV Energy has been ranked fifth on SEPA's annual Top 10 list, which ranks American electric utilities that have added the most new solar power to their systems on a Megawatt basis or a Watts-Per-Customer basis in 2012.

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It is the first time that NV Energy has received Top 10 recognition for the organization's solar adoption. NV Energy's President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Yackira noted that 2012 marked the company's highest growth year in its 25-year renewable energy history.

"NV Energy was early in recognizing the benefits of renewable energy in Nevada, long before there was a law that required us to do so.  With solar now leading the way in renewables, NV Energy has helped position Nevada as one of the nations' leaders, and I am proud of our team and our company," he said, noting that the company added nine new renewable energy projects or project improvements for more than 350 additional megawatts of capacity in 2012.

Currently, NV Energy's customers are served with a diverse renewable energy portfolio of more than 35 Nevada renewable facilities, which include solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, geothermal, small hydro, biomass, wind, and waste-heat recovery projects.  Five additional renewable energy projects are either in construction or in development.

"We are pleased to welcome NV Energy to our Top 10 list, which identifies the leaders from our upcoming sixth annual Utility Solar Rankings Report," remarked Julia Hamm, president and CEO of SEPA.

"In 2012 new installations resulted in almost 1,500 megawatts of additional new solar connected to the grid, a doubling in new solar capacity from two years ago, she noted adding that "both the number of systems and the amount of new capacity make solar electricity the fastest growing electric source in the U.S. in 2012. SEPA will continue to promote our utility leaders and encourage wide spread solar adoption to ensure a clean, diverse energy mix for the future."

The full report will be released in May 2013.

About NV Energy

Headquartered in Las Vegas, NV Energy, Inc. is a holding company whose principal subsidiaries, Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, are doing business as NV Energy. Serving a combined service territory of nearly 46,000 square-miles, NV Energy provides a wide range of energy services and products to approximately 2.4 million citizens of Nevada and nearly 40 million tourists annually.

About SEPA

SEPA is an educational non-profit organization based in Washington dedicated to helping utilities integrate solar power into their energy portfolios. The SEPA Top 10 Utility Solar Rankings report is one of many market intelligence, utility interaction and educational services SEPA provides to its utility and solar industry members. For more information about SEPA, visit our website at www.solarelectricpower.org

SOURCE NV Energy