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Mark Russell, left, and Robert Balzar take notes Monday as Bill Davidson, on the monitor, expresses disappointment with Sierra Pacific's unresponsiveness to windpower projects. Photo by Steve Andrascik.

Tuesday, July 30, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Wind power projects buffeted by opposition

Wind power projects in Nevada are running into road blocks at every turn.

Bill Davidson, a consultant to FPL Group, the parent company of Florida Power & Light, told a state task force Monday that the company was withdrawing a proposal to build a wind farm in Nevada because Sierra Pacific Power of Reno has been uncooperative.

Even though Sierra and FPL said later Monday that discussions are continuing, Davidson said he remains concerned that the opportunity for wind power development is slipping away.

FPL Group's problems don't appear to be isolated either. Another group is encountering opposition to plans to build a wind farm on Table Mountain near Primm.

Tim Carlson, a consultant to Global Renewable Energy Partners and its partners, said the state Commission on Wildlife and Natural Resources wants to delay its project while its examines whether a wind farm would disturb Big Horn sheep and other wildlife in the area.

Carlson said his clients offered to build water tanks for the sheep, rather than having to delay the project for a study.

Brad Hardenbrook, a supervisory biologist with the Wildlife Division, said the staff would prefer another site be used for the wind farm. Otherwise, the staff wants six months to a year prior to construction to study the Big Horn sheep, desert tortoise, banded Gila Monster and burrowing owl that inhabit the area.

Carlson's clients also hit a dead end on a wind farm project slated for the Nevada Test Site. Global wanted to develop an 85-megawatt wind farm on the Nevada Test Site. Carlson said his clients were working with the Air Force to resolve concerns about radar interference. Nevada Power signed a contract, and the Public Utilities Commission approved it.

"Then, all of a sudden the secretary of the Air Force says, 'Sorry, Charlie. Not in my backyard,' " Carlson said. He said the 11th-hour decision may be investigated.

While Nevada Power agreed to buy power from the wind farm at the Test Site, Davidson said he was concerned that the utilities have been unresponsive to renewable power projects proposed in response to the utility company's request last November.

At that time, he said power developers proposed to invest $3 billion in solar, wind, geothermal (hot underground water) and other green power projects.

The proposal process "is moving forward, and we're anticipating that we will be before the (Public Utilities Commission on them) sometime this fall," said Andrea Smith, a spokeswoman for Nevada Power and Sierra.

The delays are particularly worrisome for wind power developers, Davidson said, because a federal income tax credit program expires at year end 2003. Wind farm owners get a tax credit for 1.8 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity, representing about one third of the cost of the power. In order to receive the tax credit, they must be operational by the deadline to get the tax benefit, he said.

"They included the production tax credit in their bid, which is basically a direct subsidy from the U.S. taxpayer to the consumers of electricity here in Nevada," Davidson said.

"We're in a very critical time period here," said Tim Hay, state consumer advocate. "It takes takes a number of months to get one of these projects up and running."

The wind farms could be a boon to the economies of small, sparsely populated counties, possibly doubling their tax base, Hay added.

He said he will do all he can to encourage FPL to continue negotiating, but Hay said he has heard complaints from other renewable power developers about a lack of responsiveness from the Nevada utilities.

Rose McKinney-James, chairwoman of the state Task Force for Renewable Energy, said she would welcome a presentation from Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power on their efforts to contract for renewable power.

Meanwhile, the task force is preparing to seek help from consultants for assistance with a report that it must submit to the Legislature next year.