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Danish company NEG Micon, which makes turbines like this one, is a partner in a wind farm project proposed for Table Mountain near Primm. Nevada will be the third-largest producer of green power in the country by 2012, an updated study shows. COURTESY OF NEG MICON/ REVIEW-JOURNAL Renewable energy sources include wind, generated by wind turbines such as these, sun and underground hot water. By 2012, Nevada will have 1,248 megawatts in renewable power (excluding hydroelectric) capacity, an updated study shows. COURTESY OF NEG MICON Click on the image for an enlargement. Graphic by Mike Johnson.

Thursday, July 25, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Nevada gaining green power

Study: State will be nation's third-largest renewable power producer by 2012

Nevada will be the third-largest producer of green power in the country by 2012, ranking behind only the larger states of California and Texas, an updated study by the Union of Concerned Scientists shows.

The state is moving up in the ranks of states with green, or so-called renewable, power, including wind, solar and hot underground water, thanks to Senate Bill 372, which was passed into law last year.

The legislation requires electric utilities to obtain 5 percent of the power they sell in Nevada from green power sources starting next year. The percentage increases gradually to 15 percent by 2015.

Before the bill became law, the union was projecting Nevada would rank eighth, based on an earlier less aggressive legislative requirement. Steve Clemmer, a senior energy analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, however, recently updated the numbers in the 2000 report entitled, "Clean Power Surge."

Jon Wellinghoff, a lobbyist for renewable power developers and advocate of the bill, said he is impressed with Nevada's national ranking.

"What's amazing to me is when we were proposing this legislation, we had no idea it would have such a profound effect on renewable (power) development in Nevada and that it may well make Nevada No. 3 in the nation," Wellinghoff said.

"I think it's something all of Nevada can be proud of," he said.

The organization figures that Nevada will rank first among the 50 states in the percentage of new renewable energy required, followed by Massachusetts at 7 percent and Connecticut at 6 percent.

Nevada will place third in renewable power (excluding hydroelectric) capacity with 1,248 megawatts, compared with 5,124 megawatts for California and 2,000 megawatts for Texas.

Electrical plants cannot be used all the time, and the union study projects that Nevada will come close to Texas in total amount of electricity generated yearly from renewable resources. It will generate 5,731 million kilowatt hours, compared to 6,132 for Texas and 21,121 for California.

Texas relies on wind turbines for much of its renewable power, and wind farms only generate electricity 20 to 30 percent of the time when the wind is blowing, Wellinghoff explained.

By comparison, Nevada gets a large percentage of its renewable power from geothermal sources, hot underground water or steam, mostly at sites in Northern Nevada.

Geothermal plants run 95 percent of the time, which is more reliable than coal-fired and nuclear power plants, Wellinghoff said.

"Nevada has a tremendous amount of geothermal," Wellinghoff said. "As such, we have an opportunity to be a leader in the country in the development of our renewable resources."

If the Southern Nevada Water Authority acquires Nevada Power, the public power agency wouldn't be required to comply with the renewable energy law. Pat Mulroy, general manager of the authority, said it would probably would secure more power than the law requires of investor-owned utilities.

In Southern Nevada, two wind projects have been announced, according to the Public Utilities Commission. MNS Wind, an affiliate of NEG Micon of Denmark, proposed to develop the Shoshone Mountain Wind Farm on the Nevada Test Site and sell the electricity to Nevada Power. However, the federal government recently announced it was stopping the project because of concerns the turbine blades could interfere with radar.

The same company proposes to build the 90-megawatt Table Mountain Wind Project near Sandy Valley.

Furthermore, the Bureau of Land Management, which manages 67 percent of the land in Nevada, counts eight applications throughout the state for wind projects. Power plant developers are "very interested in Nevada," said Rich Hoops, a BLM official in Reno who serves on the Nevada Task Force on Renewable Energy. In December, the PUC disclosed that Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power, an affiliated utility, received 68 power proposals for renewable power projects. Of those, 30 were for geothermal projects, 18 for solar power and 18 for wind power.

The proposals exceed the utilities' power needs, he said.

Geothermal resources are located primarily in Northern Nevada, and the power industry is keen on developing projects there, he said.

BLM has received 188 applications for geothermal leases through its noncompetitive process for geothermal projects over the last two years. Of those, 123 are pending.

In addition, it has will open sealed bids for leases on other geothermal sites on Sept. 24 in the Reno Hilton. Altogether, BLM expects to lease 400,000 acres for potential geothermal development.

Although California has a great deal of existing renewable power plants, Nevada "is where the industry is putting all its eggs," he said. "In terms of new development, Nevada is where the (renewable power) industry across the board is focusing."

Clemmer has seen a surge in renewable power projects nationally, particularly wind projects, in part because of a 1.7 cent federal production tax credit for wind power that continues until 2003. "It's a fairly significant incentive that wind facilities can get over a 10-year period," he said.

"(Also) the cost of the (wind) technology has come down quite a bit," he said. "Where we're seeing the wind development is in the states where we've seen political commitment."

Worries about terrorism also give advocates another argument for renewable projects, he said.

"Renewables don't have any volatile fuels," he said, quipping that there haven't been any terrorist attacks on wind turbines.