Obama plans 14th trip to Las Vegas in August

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is lined up this month for yet another trip to Las Vegas, officials confirmed Friday.

Obama will be the keynote speaker at the National Clean Energy Summit on Aug. 24 at Mandalay Bay. It is the eighth annual gathering of renewable energy advocates, an event established by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, whose celebrity has grown since helping negotiate the Obama administration's nuclear pact with Iran, has been confirmed as a speaker at the one-day conference. The headliner last year was former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

It was not immediately clear how long Obama will be in Southern Nevada or whether he will take part in other official or fundraising events while here. The White House did not comment Friday.

The trip would mark Obama's 18th to Nevada and 14th to Southern Nevada during his presidency, the most by far of any sitting president.

Obama was last in Southern Nevada in November, delivering a speech on immigration at Del Sol High School on Nov. 21 and staying the weekend in Henderson where he played golf on both that Saturday and Sunday.

This time, it appears Obama will be traveling to Las Vegas fresh from summer vacation in Martha's Vineyard. The first family is scheduled for a 15-day stay at the Massachusetts resort island from Aug. 8 to Aug. 23, according to the White House.

The Clean Energy Summit has grown into a significant gathering of green energy experts, advocates and national leaders, but Obama will rank as the event's most prominent speaker.

Former President Bill Clinton spoke at the first summit at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2008 and has appeared at the event three more times since. Vice President Joe Biden gave the keynote in 2011.

The theme for the conference this year is "Powering Progress," according to organizers.

Executives from Tesla Motors and Panasonic are scheduled to speak about the gigafactory being built outside Reno to manufacture lithium ion batteries for electric vehicles and power packs. The factory has been advertised to employ 6,500 people.

Conference co-sponsors include UNLV, MGM Resorts International, the Las Vegas-based Clean Energy Project and the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank based in Washington.

Las Vegas Review-Journal writer Henry Brean contributed to this report. Contact Review-Journal Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@reviewjournal.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.