Don Campbell of Spheral Solar Power discusses solar power in front of a photovoltaic panel array at the Power-Gen Renewable Energy conference, which ended Thursday at the Las Vegas Hilton. Photo by John Locher.

Nevada will continue to encounter difficulty fostering renewable energy projects until its investor-owned utilities strengthen their finances and become more creditworthy, according to the president of a renewable energy group.

Michael Eckhart, president of the American Council on Renewable Energy, made the comment during the Power-Gen Renewable Energy trade show, which ended Thursday at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Nevada Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Power Co., subsidiaries of Sierra Pacific Resources, have junk bond ratings and that translates into risk for projects built solely to sell solar, wind and geothermal energy to the utilities. Renewable power developers in other states generally don't encounter risk-related problems with other utilities, assuming the developer's financing is solid, Eckhart said.

"It is a problem that's known to exist in Nevada. Nevada is one of the weaker states on this issue, and it needs to be fixed promptly," Eckhart said.

Eckhart said the utilities and state regulators need to work together to improve the financial health of the utilities.

Until that happens, renewable energy power plant developers will be required to pay higher interest rates, invest more equity in their projects and rely on shorter term lending in order to obtain project financing, Eckhart said.

"There is no way to sidestep this issue," he said.

Jon Wellinghoff, an energy attorney, disagreed.

"What Michael Eckhart is saying is old news. I think we can finance (renewable projects in Nevada) today," given the utilities' improved finances.

The American Council was among 106 exhibitors at the Power-Gen conference this year, compared with 46 a year ago, said Tom Weirich of the American Council, which co-sponsored the meeting with Power Engineering. Attendance at the show increased to 1,700 from 1,000.

Exhibitors told attendees about cars that burn biodiesel, laptop computer bags that recharge the computers inside, wind farms, wave power, biomass projects that burn organic waste, and geothermal power plants that harness the heat from underground water and steam in Nevada.

UK Trade & Investment introduced attendees to several renewable energy businesses from the United Kingdom and outlined that nation's commitment to renewable power.

A British law, similar to the renewable energy law adopted in Nevada in 2001, requires all power generators in the United Kingdom to produce 10 percent of their power from renewable, or green, power sources by 2010.

"The single most important concern underpinning this is climate change and emissions," explained British Deputy Consul General Alastair Newton.

Powertech Solar was among the U.K. companies that participated in Power-Gen. It makes a solar thermal vacuum tube heat pipe that can be used to independently power and heat a house or building, said Eric Hawkins, technical director. The cost of the system would add $300 yearly to payments on a 30-year mortgage, he said.

The company wants to license companies in Nevada to manufacture the product, he said. The technology is being used to generate only 365 megawatts of electricity in the United States but already is producing 35,000 megawatts of power from the technology.

If American companies don't seize the opportunity, "these guys (in China) are going to be selling to you," Hawkins said.

DaimlerChrysler promoted its new biodiesel Jeep Liberty CRD, which is assembled in Toledo, Ohio, and is being offered for as little as $25,125. Biodiesel may include petroleum-based diesel but it has at least some fuel made from plant materials, commonly soy beans in the United States and grape seeds in Europe, said Simon Godwin, a manager of regulatory affairs for the automaker.

The Jeeps burns 5 percent biodiesel fuel and can also use standard petroleum-based diesel without fuel from plant material, he said.

While biodiesel creates carbon dioxide, plants that are used to make biodiesel absorb carbon dioxide, Godwin said. Biodiesel also reduces some particle and hydrocarbon pollution associated with diesel.

Oliver Strube, publisher of Renewable Energy Access, a Web site (www.RenewableEnergyAccess.com) for news stories, mentioned the introduction of flexible photovoltaic film that can be incorporated into products ranging from roofing to bags for laptop computers.

Photovoltaic systems convert sunlight directly into electricity, and computer bags that incorporate the solar energy system can be used to recharge the PCs inside.

PowerLight, the Berkeley, Calif.-based company, that will be building a 3.1-megawatt photovoltaic power plant for the Las Vegas Valley Water District, exhibited at the conference. It plans to start construction in August.

Airtricity builds, owns and operates wind farms. The British company has been developing wind turbine sites in Europe since 1999 and has 200 megawatts of capacity in Northern Ireland and Scotland, some of which is sold directly to power customers. It entered the U.S. market in 2003 and is negotiating to build wind farms that will supply American electric utilities with power.

"We would like to start retailing (wind power) directly to customers in the United States," said Martin McAdam, the North America general manager for Airtricity.

Retail power markets must be deregulated in order for companies like Airtricity to sell directly to end users. While Nevada and some states abandoned deregulation in the wake of the disastrous, and some say poorly structured competitive market in California a few years ago, Eckhart expects consumers will push politicians to give them an opportunity to buy green power from unregulated, competitors of utilities.

"There's no massive move to deregulate," he said. "I personally believe it will return."