LETTER: Green energy mandate a bad idea for Nevada

Nevada’s reliable supply of low-cost electricity has helped it to attract more industries in recent years. But if Question 6 passes, electricity rates will skyrocket and reliability will be compromised.

In recent years Germany has aggressively mandated more wind and solar power. During this period German electricity prices, which were previously unremarkable, have skyrocketed to nearly the highest in the world. Now “energy poverty” is becoming a problem in Germany, as more than 800,000 households have disconnected their electrical service completely because they can no longer afford to pay their electricity bills.

Since California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill mandating greatly increased use of wind and solar power, California’s electricity rates have skyrocketed relative to the rest of the country. Californians now pay nearly three times as much per kilowatt-hour than do Nevadans. The majority of solar panels are made in China. So passing Question 6 would destroy many good-paying jobs from Nevada’s reliable, cost-effective, domestically produced electricity sources, and make us dependent upon communist China for much of our electricity generation.

It is the height of foolishness to expect unreliable wind and solar could produce on average 50 percent of our electricity in 10 years. During a recent heat wave, Californians suffered through rotating blackouts as their wind and solar plants did not produce the required power. At other times those solar panels and wind turbines generate too much power, forcing Californians to pay $1 billion a year to other states to take this excess electricity.

Vote no on this radical proposal.