Nevada clean energy thrives - Business

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Jun. 16, 2009
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Nevada clean energy thrives

Pew study shows sector growing fast; 'sky is the limit'

By JOHN G. EDWARDS
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Renewable Energy

Rick Lacson of Power Efficiency Corp. is shown soldering a circuit board Monday for a motor efficiency control unit.
Photo by Duane Prokop.

Nevada's clean-energy economy grew even faster than other sectors between 1998 and 2007, according to a study by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

During that period, Nevada's clean-energy industries increased employment by 28.8 percent to 3,641 jobs, compared to 26.5 percent for all jobs in the state. The clean-energy sector showed 9.1 percent job growth nationally, which was faster than the overall 3.7 percent job growth, according to a recent 59-page report on the clean-energy economy.

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"That 28 percent growth rate is not insignificant. I think the sky is the limit," said Dan Geary, Nevada spokesman for the Pew Environmental Group. "The West is going to continue to grow and to need more and more power."

Nevada benefits from some of the nation's best solar energy and geothermal energy, he said. Geothermal energy comes from hot underground water and steam.

"It's good news for Nevada that kind of job growth has occurred without any kind of substantial public policy," said Charles Benjamin, director of the Nevada office of Western Resource Advocates, a conservation group.

Nevada requires NV Energy to obtain increasing amounts of their power from renewable resources, such as solar and wind power, and provides tax incentives to build utility-scale solar power plants.

However, "a lot of these more aggressive incentives occurred this legislative session, and this study doesn't cover the effect of that," Benjamin said.

The clean-energy economy, as defined by the Pew report, consists of clean energy, such as renewable power; energy efficiency; environmentally friendly production; conservation and pollution mitigation; and training and support.

The first category includes projects such as Boulder City's Nevada Solar One, a 64-megawatt, solar thermal power plant that provides power to NV Energy; a 14-megawatt array of solar panels at Nellis Air Force Base; Sempra Generation's planned 48-megawatt addition to 10 megawatts of solar panels at Boulder City; and numerous geothermal power plants in Northern Nevada.

The clean-energy economy also encompasses Power Efficiency Corp., which employs about 20 workers in Las Vegas in manufacturing systems for improving the efficiency of electric motors for elevators, rock crushing and construction conveyor belts.

However, the clean-energy sector remains relatively small nationally, particularly in Nevada.

Clean-energy jobs represent 0.28 percent of the 1.28 million jobs in Nevada, the smallest percentage of any state except Mississippi. Nationally, the sector accounts for 0.49 percent of jobs.

"It remains to be seen" whether clean energy can become a significant economic driver in Nevada, Benjamin said.

Keith Schwer, director of the Center of Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said he had not had an opportunity to review the report but agreed with Benjamin.

"Can we build an economy to take advantage of the apparent advantages that we have?" Schwer asked. "That's a great question for us, and we don't know (the answer)."

Like the first transcontinental railroad and the first manned flight to the moon, the development of Nevada's clean-energy economy looks inevitable but needs a government boost, Geary said. "All of these things require comprehensive federal goals and policies," he said.

Benjamin said, "There's virtually an unlimited amount of work that can be done to our homes and offices to have more efficiency."

In addition, Nevada may benefit from the growing demand for renewable power in California, Benjamin said, because it is easier to obtain permits for renewable energy plants in Nevada.

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

CLEAN-ENERGY ECONOMY

By 2007, Clean-energy jobs were growing at a faster pace than other job sectors.

	CLEAN BUSINESSES	CLEAN JOBS	CLEAN-JOB GROWTH*	OVERALL JOB GROWTH*	VENTURE CAPITAL
Arizona	1,123	11,578	21.3	16.2	31,106
California	10,209	126,390	7.7	6.7	6,580,427
Idaho	428	4,517	126.1	13.8	27,890
Nevada	511	3,641	28.8	26.5	19,804
Utah	579	5,199	-12.4	10.8	26,957
U.S. total	68,203	770,385	9.1	3.7	12,570,110

*_{From 1998-2007}

SOURCE: “The Clean Energy Economy,” The Pew Charitable Trusts

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. alvinjh wrote on June 16, 2009 11:46 PM: I made a mistake while transposing megawatts to kilowatts while trying to type. And since I am critical of your reporting I can't be a hypocrite and not correct myself. San Onofre creates about 2,254 megawatts Units 2 and 3. Nellis Air Force Base Solar Power System 15000 kilowatts I wrote San Onofre made mega watts, that is of course incorrect, it makes 2254000 kilowatts My mistake. alvinjh wrote on June 16, 2009 11:32 PM: I mistyped: San Onofre in California produces 225400 megawats, 24 hours a day on 84 acres. One too many zeros... alvinjh wrote on June 16, 2009 11:30 PM: I mistyped--that should have been: "San Onofre in California produces 225400 megawats, 24 hours a day on 84 acres." alvinjh wrote on June 16, 2009 11:22 PM: 3,641 jobs? Where are they? The article tells us about "Power Efficiency Corp., which employs about 20 workers in Las Vegas in manufacturing systems for improving the efficiency of electric motors for elevators, rock crushing and construction conveyor belts" Are those supposed to be jobs generated by the green power industry? How is that? Rock crushing and elevators are not in that class... I read the subsidy for each job was some $260,000. Is that accurate? The solar panels installed at Nellis and in Boulder City have very few jobs attached after they were installed. How much did the installers make/hour? $10.00? Did they make what a IBEW lineman makes? No. Did they make what a technician at a Nuclear Power Plant makes? No. Does anyone have an idea how small the amount of power a 14-megawatt array really is, and how expensive it is? San Onofre in California produces 2254000 megawats, 24 hours a day on 84 acres. Nellis Air Force Base Solar Power System produces less than 15 megawatts on 140 acres in daylight hours only. There is no battery for the electricity necessary for nighttime power. The Nellis Air Force Base Solar Power System cost about $100 million dollars. It is supposed to save $1 million dollars a year (in the daytime) So only 100 years to make back the initial cost? This is wishful thinking and silly. It is the kind of symbolic stuff popping up all over the place that is supposed to substitute for serious thinking. Where are the journalists that are supposed to ask hard questions? This is a fluff piece. Muse wrote on June 16, 2009 11:39 AM: So, the article cited 138-megawatts of power generated .... how many more megawatts to go to replace current coal and nuclear power usage in the state? At what cost? And how much of the state's free space will be covered with solar panels? I'm not against green power at all. Bring it on! But its not happening overnight ... it won't lower consumer cost in the foreseeable future ... it isn't a "magic pill" we can take now and all of our worries are over. Sorry John, you "reported" only half the story. Do a better job next time and dig deeper, report the facts (pretty or not), and keep the sugar-sweet all-is-rosy slant out of it. You're supposed to be a Reporter, not a "Champion of the cause". Ugly American wrote on June 16, 2009 09:57 AM: In this part of the world thermal solar is cheaper than coal or oil. The US trade deficit is about $60B a month. Of that, $40B is oil and $20B is energy intensive products like metals & cars. There is only 1 way to fix the US economy - get off oil. Coal exploration, development, mining & consumption have all been massively subsidized for decades in the US. High grade coal (anthracite) production peaked in the 1920s and has been downhill ever since. What's left is junk coal (10MJ/kg vs 73MG/kg). It is a FACT that Nevada Solar One cost just $4/watt to build in only 18 months while the new coal plant at Ely was budgeted at $5/watt and 4 years, and then it would need $0.70/watt year for fuel and then more for disposal. And that's after coal gets all the subsidies & tax deductions. PS - Coal costs Nevada $9B a year. I'd rather have solar & geothermal and keep that money here. Barry Soetoro wrote on June 16, 2009 09:43 AM: Jon: How would the industry be doing without subsidies or mandates? Can it compete in the open marketplace? Lies wrote on June 16, 2009 09:40 AM: This charitable trust "Pew" seeks government subsidies for "green" companies. Nothing comes of any of this except making people in places like SF, LA, New York, and parts of Summerlin feel good. Meanwhile, electric prices are going up 16% again in Oct. Let's shut down another coal plant, eh?? Not "green enough"....... well heh, never effects the people who promote these programs. John wrote on June 16, 2009 09:19 AM: Without government subsidy, ElectraTherm (www.electratherm.com) is one of these great Nevada clean energy success stories in the making. Delivering on President Obama's call for energy efficiency, ElectraTherm turns industrial waste heat into fuel-free, emissions-free electricity. Popular Science named the ElectraTherm Green Machine "Best of What's New 2008" Jon H. wrote on June 16, 2009 08:08 AM: Nevada Clean Energy Thrives. Oh, does it? If clean energy can “make money” without placing an additional burden on the Private Sector, by way of taxes, subsidies or any other government (our) money then great. However, if this market segment needs our tax dollar and regulation that forces us to pay for this more expensive “clean energy” then “hell no”. These stories have all the red flags of a feel good nonsense government program that does nothing and is not sustainable going forward. The only thing these programs do is put major amounts of our tax dollar into the pockets of the politically well connected.