Bob Coffin Introduces bill proposing burning of tires to create renewable energy

A proposed bill that would label power plants that burn tires as a form of renewable energy didn't appear to get much traction from members of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee Wednesday.

State Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, said he introduced the bill on behalf a lawyer, whom he did not name. Coffin suggested the lawyer's family was interested in a tire power generation project, but he did not return calls for comment after the hearing.

Nevada's renewable energy law requires that investor-owned electric utilities get a portion of their electricity from "green power" sources, such as solar, wind and geothermal power. The law also permits a partial credit for a technology called reverse polymerization, which draws power from old tires without a fire.

Reverse polymerization uses microwave energy in a nitrogen-rich container to create energy and break down chemicals, such as those from tires, into simpler chemicals.

Wells City Manager Jolene Supp told the Senate Committee about a 3-megawatt reverse polymerization plant built by Humboldt Environmental and Renewable Technology of Wells. Supp said the power plant is awaiting permits needed to start operation. The plant would consume 4,000 tires daily and produce 3-megawatts of power of which 2 megawatts would be fed into the electrical grid.

Coffin said tires are filling up landfills and can accidentally catch fire. Burning-tire fires are hard to extinguish, he said.

The committee didn't vote on the bill, but several members saw problems with the measure. Many were worried about pollution.

"I've seen a tire burn before, and it really pollutes," said state Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas.

Burning tires with coal, as one possible technology would, could create carcinogens or nitrogen oxide pollution, said John Sagebiel, an environmental scientist who opposed Coffin's bill.

State Sen. and committee Chairman Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, said: "If tires were burned along with coal in a power plant, "I think that would defeat the whole purpose of the (state law on renewable energy)."

Beyond air pollution, Kyle Davis, policy director for the Nevada Conservation League, said the tires-as-energy-source proposal creates the potential for land pollution. A company may import used tires for power generation and then close, he said.

"Then, we are left with a yardful of tires, which would present problems," Davis said.

Added Sagebiel: "We don't want to be the recipient of other's waste. It's a good idea to deal with our own (waste)."

Attorney Fred Schmidt said his client, geothermal power company Ormat Technologies, opposes tire burning because it would water down the credit for other types of renewable energy.