Green Energy

Going Green in Nevada

Thursday, June 26, 2008

BLM Pushes Solar Power back FIVE YEARS!

We've been hearing about it now for a few weeks but the Fed's, the BLM: Bureau of Lame Management, er, sorry, the Bureau of LAND Management has decided to put a moratorium on disposing of or leasing land for Solar projects. They complain that they have gotten "so many" applications in the last few years that they need to do an environmental impact study to see if the new shade offered to the desert turtles will hurt them or not. Read the PVT article.

They want to push any approvals back for 22 months! That is almost TWO YEARS! How long does it take to find out whether a turtle likes the shade of a solar panel or not? Add that two years to the current THREE YEAR process to get the proper permits and we are still at least FIVE YEARS away from any new Solar Power in rural Nevada. That is not even counting the time it take to build the solar or wind plants.

I put this solidly in Senate MAJORITY Leader Harry Reid's lap. He is the freekin' head of the US Senate with a majority in Congress and what have we seen for all his LIP SERVICE to renewables in Nevada. Back when new coal plants were being proposed and he came out saying "over my dead body" he should have said "No to coal but I will get the BLM to release 50,000 acres for solar and wind projects"

I am TIRED of the lip service to renewables by ALL OUR POLITICIANS. It seems like this Ed Goedhart from Nye County is the ONLY ONE who gets it!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Ethanol and/or Food

The LVRJ had a major editorial on Ethanol calling it"magical beans" and a scam. As the price of food goes up and the price of grain goes up I find I am torn.

My brother is an Indiana farmer and is now enjoying, for the first time in my 48 years of memory, a price for corn that he can actually make a living off of. $2 per bushel corn was the standard for almost 50 years, imagine that, imagine YOUR wages staying the same as they were in 1958! Instead of complaining and fighting (okay there has always been a little complaining and subsidies) the American farmer buckled down and became more and more efficient, and more efficient. They produced more and more grain off the same few acres. NOW suddenly we have corn at $6 per bushel because of the dream of ethanol fueling the US economy. Hooray for the farmer!

But on the other hand food is more expensive because corn also feeds animals that feed us both milk and meat. It still takes a lot of energy and water to produce ethanol and while I believe we will get better at it, there might be a better way to spend our resources. Like on Wind, Sun, and Geothermal.

PRONevada covers and area that doesn't include many corn growers, although wheat has gone up in price too. But PRONevada has to push alternative energy in Nevada and we would like to see the cost of food go down for many reasons while producing renewable energy in other ways.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Nye County Direction

Nye County has approved "A $492,000 renewable energy study (that) will examine planning issues associated with various wind and solar projects proposed around Nye County"

This study will look at the "feasibility" of Wind Power, Biomass Power from landfills, Solar Power and infrastructure issues in Nye County. You can read about this here in the Pahrump Valley Times.

Now PRONevada is ALL FOR alternative energy in rural Nevada and we believe that there is no reason why Nevada can not be energy POSITIVE by the end of the next decade but this study has the smell of a stall tactic. I understand that Nye County has to go through proper channels and has to make sure they don't step on any toes but LET'S GET MOVING!

EVERYBODY KNOWS alternative energy is the right thing to do so instead of doing another feasibility study, let's knock down some of the barriers! Read the March 14 blog below and let's get moving instead of talking about it and studying it for another year!

PRONevada praises Nye County for their steps, even though they are baby steps, at least they are in the right direction.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Access to BLM Land for Alternative Energy!

Now that is a great idea! The LVRJ tells us that Sen. Reid is proposing opening up Federal BLM (Bureau of Land Management) Land for use in alternative energy.

If ANY OF YOU have tried to get the BLM to release or "dispose of" land (I have) you know that it is like rolling over an elephant by yourself. It literally takes an act of congress to get it done. While Clark County has done some innovative (and lucrative) coordination between the BLM, environmental groups, and businesses all the rural counties have not. So you are stuck with some arbitrary 10 year plan in our rural counties for disposing of land. All of us know how well 10 year plans work out. Anything outside of that planned disposal takes an Act of Congress.

PRONevada is PRO ANYTHING that will free up the 67% of Nevada held by the BLM, ESPECIALLY for use in alternative energy.

(But let's not forget our farmers and ranchers who can also turn that BLM desert into food on your table)

PRONevada.org

Monday, February 18, 2008

Nevada HAS TO LEAD!

It is time for Nevada to step up. The LVRJ again this past Sunday touted the potential in Nevada for being the leader in alternative energy. Again and again editorials and bloggers have touted the POTENTIAL in Nevada. They have told us over and over again how we SHOULD or COULD be leading in this.

Nevada is in a unique position right now. Sure we hear the bellyaching of our Schools with the decreasing of their INCREASE in funds this year but there is a lot of money out there for alternative energy solutions. We have state representatives like Ed Goedhart of District 36 (a Republican) and we have state senators like Dina Titus (a Democrat) who are working to make changes along with a handful of others but they need help.

Here are a few ideas:
1] Take away the "incentives" of companies to be LEED certified and give the money to our Public Schools to be used ONLY FOR SOLAR POWER on their facilities - the gift that keeps on giving. LEED certification is still too nebulous and still too easy for a smart businessman to get around. There is enough incentive in businesses to go green without the state sponsoring it.
2] Newspapers, who constantly tout alternative energy, sponsor Alternative Energy Awards and grants. They can raise awareness and promote experimentation by offering $1 million in prizes for companies and/or individuals in categories like: Most innovative use of alternative energy; Most dramatic decrease in traditional power usage; Gadget with most potential; Most innovative new idea; or WHATEVER.
3] How about making all the neighborhood associations get involved! Recycling projects, collection locations and how about each neighborhood association haveing to generate 10% of their own power! There is enough garbage and enough sun and wind to power the neighborhood if they want to coordinate it.

I am sure you have ideas too, so respond to this blog and I will make sure they get posted and sent to people who can do something about it. This isn't a political issue, it is a practical issue. Can you imagine Nevada being the first state in the Union that is TOTALLY ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SELF SUFFICIENT! Can you imagine? I can!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Coal Plants in Rural Nevada

I have to say that PRO Nevada is torn over the building of new Coal Plants in Rural Nevada. On the one hand bringing 800 temporary jobs and 110 permanant ones and the revenue generated by all those construction guys renting, buying food, and paying for there stay in rural Nevada is a GOOD THING. On the other hand PRO Nevada has been a staunch supporter of alternative energy in rural Nevada. We are so rich in natural resources for producing energy. Resources like the SUN, the WIND, and even geothermal are available in Rural Nevada. The price of turning these resources into energy is coming down all the time and with a boost from the feds and state it will get over the top. Back to the first "hand" PRO Nevada supports alternative energy because so much of our current energy needs are supplied by people who want to kill us and we have a hard time supporting terrorists by buying their oil. But coal is a "home grown" product and in abundant supply here in the states. So coal plants will support Americans and American jobs. Also, the energy is still cheaper and cheaper energy bills are good for rural Nevada.

I said all that to say this: PRONevada doesn't seem to have a horse in the race for the coal plants in Nevada. But we welcome any comments to help pursuade.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Amargosa and Solar Power

More news in the Pahrump Valley Times this past weekend telling us that Ausra is making some moves to Amargosa Valley for a new SOLAR power plant. We at PRONevada would GREATLY ENCOURAGE Nye County to do all they can to get this plant.

Ausra is building a manufacturing plant in Las Vegas and is pulling the price of Solar Power from 20 cents and kwh (kilowatt hour) down to 11 cents. Gas and coal is at 5-6 cents and rising while solar is coming down. That still may not sound good to some of you to have Solar twice the price of gas and coal but consider a few things: 1] One is going down, the other is going up and soon (within a few years) they will switch places. 2] Paying 6 cents for gas is putting 6 cents into the pockets of people OUTSIDE Nevada, sometimes OUTSIDE the US and even INSIDE the borders of countries that HATE US! 3] Clean, absolutely clean, ZERO EMMISIONS of any kind! 4] A completely RENEWABLE resource, if there is one thing Amargosa has it is SUN and lots of it, it will be there tomorrow, you don't have to dig for it, it just shows up for work EVERY MORNING! (or at least 97% of the time)

So come on Nye County, come on State powers! Get this plant in here! Get them the tax breaks they need, cut out the red tape they are bound with. Give Valley Electric and even Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific power a kick in the but to build the transmission lines and credits they should be giving. Let's do this! It would definately be PRONevada!

December 20, 2007

Now here is a guy who gets it!

Here's the thing. We can talk all we want about Green Energy in Nevada but the fact is the government is against it (as they are against anything new) and the current yahoos in the business are against it. Nevada Power would really rather not rely on renewable energy, they got their budget plans for the next 15 years and renewables don't fit in. The government talks big but all Reid does is talk against it. This is truly a place where the Government can make a difference. There is a huge wall that renewable energy companies must climb that is a barrier to entry. If we want to get off foreign oil and get on renewables the government has to step in and give it a boost. We are not talking about bailing out a failing industry, we are not talking about pumping money into making buggy whips here. This is the role of a good central government. Take down the barriers to renewables!

A great letter in the Reno Gazette Journal by Assemblyman Ed Goedhart shows he gets it:

I applaud Professor Robinson for opening a dialogue on energy independence [Your Turn, Nov. 29]. He is absolutely correct: We must take action sooner rather than later to secure our energy supply, as a matter of long-term sustainability and national security. In addition to alternative transportation sources he mentioned, we must pursue renewable energy here in Nevada.

I am proud to say that Nevada is home to one of the largest solar power plants in the world, Nevada Solar One. And we have far more potential for solar development, given our abundant natural resources.

Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that we will develop more projects like Nevada Solar One unless Congress ensures a stable investment climate for the solar industry. This is why our congressional representatives must support an extension of the renewable energy investment tax credit, which would provide critical support for financing, planning and building solar energy plants.

It's time to explore our vast wealth of solar power, instead of keeping us dependent on out-of-state coal companies. We should be mining renewable energy as much as we do gold and silver in the north and tourism in the south of our state. And it's time for our government to help the growth of solar energy.

Assemblyman Ed Goedhart

District 36

Amargosa

Rural Nevada was once the wasteland of the states with it's rocky landscape and crazy daily heat. Now it is a vast storehouse of renewable energy, both wind and solar. Times have changed and our local and federal government MUST SEE THE OPPORTUNITIES!

PRONevada.org

Filed in Green Energy

Hurray for Pahrump. These cool windmills SHOULD be popping up EVERYWHERE in Nevada!

Jul. 04, 2007

Wind power makes debut in Pahrump

TAX CREDITS, DEPRECIATION BUILT INTO WIND POWER

By MARK WAITE

PVT

Pahrump could soon be looking a little like Holland, with its famous windmills, if a local company proves successful, though this kind of windmill has a high-tech look.

A start-up company, E-Z Wind and Solar, held it's "big uprising" Friday, lifting up a wind turbine with a mast 33-1/2 feet tall and curved turbine blades 18 inches in diameter set to swing in the wind.

The morning of the big event it was calm. But true to form on most desert afternoons, the wind picked up later in the day with gusts well above 10 mph.

Local welder Mike Reeder was doing some of the hands-on installation work during the first job at 3570 S. Vanguard St. He researched the idea of alternative energy together with company CEO Sue Zink after hearing people complain about wanting to reduce high monthly power bills of as much as $400-600.

"This is a good way to do it. We have wind here every day," Reeder said.

Michael Belcher, the technical specialist, and Reeder got on the Internet and found out there were training sessions they attended.

Reeder claims the Skystream 3.7 wind turbine will cover, on average, 85 percent of the power needs for a home at a cost of $15,000 installed. He explained the name means "when the winds blowing like a banshee it's putting out 3.7 kilowatts."

"The company that makes these has been in business 20-something years. They have some pretty good electrical engineers working for them and they really worked a lot on this system," Reeder said.

A homeowner can claim a $2,500 tax credit the first year, then can list depreciation for 36 months, he said.

"We've got a lot of interest. We've got people who've been asking from as far away as Elko and Laughlin," Reeder said.

The turbines were designed by NASA and don't generate a lot of noise, he said.

The wind turbine doesn't have to be running 24 hours per day, seven days a week, either, Reeder said. Homeowners can monitor the watts being put out by personal computer, Reeder explained. If the wind turbine is generating 1.8 kilowatts, "That means you got a little teeny wind." At 2.5 kilowatts it's a moderate wind; if the turbine is generating 3.5 kilowatts, he said, "It's blowing pretty stiff."

So the name says E-Z Wind and Solar. What about solar power? Nevada has been described as "the Saudi Arabia of renewable power."

"Equipment in solar cells start losing efficiency when they get over 77 degrees Fahrenheit," Reeder said. "So the hotter it gets, the less efficient they are. You have to have more of them to make up for the loss."

He added, "Batteries don't last in the heat. We prefer this system because it hooks up directly. There is no battery. The only battery is on the remote control."

While he's pushing the wind power side of it, Reeder said the company can hook up a hybrid system of wind and solar power.

A company in Las Vegas specializes in selling solar equipment. Reeder said it's selling extra solar panels to customers to make up for the lack of efficiency at higher temperatures. Those systems are more expensive than wind turbines, he said.

Valley Electric Association is behind the Vanguard Street project, Reeder said. In fact, his company will be installing a demonstration wind turbine at Rosemary Clarke Middle School.

"They're behind us 100 percent because once we explain that we got cutting edge technology and their engineers had a chance to review it, they were really impressed with the quality of the machine and it's totally compatible with the grid system they use," Reeder said.

Utilities like VEA are also under mandates to begin using a certain percentage of renewable energy in coming years, he said.

While a proposal to erect a series of wind turbines on hills around Pahrump Valley was withdrawn after public protest over aesthetics back in 2000, a company like E-Z Wind and Solar may make a dent in the politically correct renewable energy issue one backyard at a time.

None of the neighbors have complained, Reeder said, and no special planning permits are required.

"It's going to definitely save a lot of people hundreds of dollars a month," Reeder said.

The company's phone number is 727-WIND.