Quantcast
MobileRJ | RSS Twitter Twitter FacebookFacebook E-mail Alerts
Home manage Las Vegas Review-Journal
  Jobs Cars Homes Shopping Travel Weddings Golf Best of Las Vegas Photo   Search:

RECENT EDITIONS
Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu

sponsored by
Business
Apr. 23, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Nevada No. 2 in solar power development

By JOHN G. EDWARDS
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Thanks to two giant solar projects, Nevada ranked second only to California in solar power development last year, the Solar Energy Industry Association said.

The two generators were the 64-megawatt Nevada Solar One project at Boulder City and the 14-megawatt solar panel array installed at Nellis Air Force Base last year. Together, the solar projects added 78.6 megawatts in solar-generation capacity for Nevada last year while 87.1 megawatts were added for California. The trade group did not have figures for total capacity in the two states.

Most Popular Stories
  • Mayor calls Lady Luck casino 'carcass'
  • CASINOS IN COURT: Testimony heard in Wynn case
  • Consolidated Resorts files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
  • Players turned away at WSOP
  • Area economy hits 'pause' period, economist says
  • NEVADAN AT WORK: Local gaming veteran sees opportunity in small Henderson casino
  • Fontainebleau files motion to leave offices
  • FOURTH OF JULY TOURISM: Las Vegas is the place for bargain seekers
  • ONLINE GUY: Palm Pre promising but not ready to replace Apple iPhone in pocket
  • Job hunt is brutal for older workers




    • Photovoltaic systems, like those installed at Nellis, rely on silicon panels to convert sunlight into electricity. Solar thermal plants like Nevada Solar One use the heat of the sun to boil a liquid that creates steam to spin electricity-generating turbines.

    The prospect of selling electricity from solar thermal plants to California and other surrounding states represents a big opportunity for Nevada, said Monique Hanis, a spokeswoman for the solar energy trade group.

    "You're poised to be a net exporter of solar energy," Hanis said Monday. "Nevada is just poised for tremendous growth."

    Ausra of Palo Alto, Calif., is building a concentrating solar power manufacturing plant near McCarran International Airport. It will use the facility to build solar power components for its own projects and for those of competitors.

    Nationally, 245 megawatts of solar power were installed last year. Concentrating solar rose 18 percent with the completion of Nevada Solar One, the first utility-scale plant of that type since 1991.

    Photovoltaic systems that are linked to utility grids grew by 45 percent to 750 megawatts. Retailers such as Wal-Mart, Costco, Best Buy, Safeway and Home Depot placed photovoltaic systems on their rooftops.

    Around the country, another 4,000 megawatts of concentrating solar power were announced last year, enough to power 1 million households. The total includes the 280-megawatt concentrating solar power that Abengoa of Spain plans to build for Arizona Public Service.

    Analysts attribute solar energy growth partially to tax credits, which end this year. Three pieces of legislation now pending in Congress, however, would extend the credit for several years. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., pushed action on an amendment that would extend tax credits for solar energy, along with wind, geothermal, hydroelectric power and fuel cells. It is part of the Housing Stimulus Bill, which the Senate passed by a vote of 88-8 on April 10.

    Contact reporter John G. Edwards at jedwards@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0420.

    Newsvine Digg Fark Technorati reddit StumbleUpon del.icio.us Slashdot Propeller Mixx Furl Twitter MySpace Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Bookmarks Windows Live Favorites Ask MyStuff myAOL Favorites

    Leave Your Comment 6 Reader Comments
    Terms & Conditions
    The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The reviewjournal.com does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please notify the web editor.

    Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 48 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
    Current Word Count:

    Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.

    Tom McCullough wrote on March 09, 2009 10:12 AM: This is the best thing that could happen for Nevada and the country. Clean energy produced in the USA.

    This new industry creates jobs and provides infrastructure and gateway for new technology which will lead to more jobs.

    This technology also reduces our reliance on the Saudi's and Hugo Chavez. Its good to be self sufficient.

    Go Green. Go Solar. Go American.


    Norm wrote on April 24, 2008 09:36 PM: I totally agree that the solar farms will be a blight on the desert. Use rooftops.
    Offer more subsidies to the homeowners, and require new home permits to include renewable energy sources at least equal to the expected homes useage.
    All publically funded construction to be built solar/wind/garbage powered, ie, off-the-grid.


    Roger wrote on April 24, 2008 09:00 AM: Many of us do not want the public lands and open space of Nevada covered with this crap. There needs to be a way to put this on rooftops and disturbed areas. Not all over the desert. Luckily, the cost of most of the proposed solar farms will make them fail. It is not "green" to scrape up miles and miles of desert to save the Earth. This is about money...


    dwc wrote on April 23, 2008 02:17 PM: "Nevada could become a clean energy superpower if people put their minds to it."

    The minds are already put, Sebastian. All that's required is to blow up the executive offices of Sierra Pacific Company and all lobbyists of "big coal", "big oil," et al.


    Jerry Wayne wrote on April 23, 2008 01:17 PM: makes sense Sebastian, run with it


    Sebastian wrote on April 23, 2008 08:34 AM: Nevada could become a clean energy superpower if people put their minds to it. We have hundreds of thousands of barren square miles of land, sun almost every day and purpetual wind. A trade off with the Federal government in allowing Yucca Mountain to go forward could result in Federal funding paying for it. I think I'll call Harry Reid.