By Chris Morris
Las Vegas Sun
When the Legislature required the state’s power company to produce a certain percent of its electricity from renewable energy, a primary goal was to spur the “green energy” industry inside Nevada.
Building that industry, Republicans and Democrats have agreed, is integral to the future economic health of the state.
But NV Energy, the state’s largest electric utility, has used wind power from Wyoming, geothermal from Utah and hydropower from Idaho dams, some built more than 100 years ago, to help it meet the state’s requirement.
By one measure, NV Energy met a third of its renewable energy requirement in Southern Nevada through such short-term contracts in 2011, according to filings made by NV Energy and obtained by the Las Vegas Sun.
For comparison, solar from Nevada accounted for about 9 percent of the company’s renewable energy portfolio in Southern Nevada.
Environmentalists and renewable energy advocates say that NV Energy’s purchases, which are estimated to be as much as $100 million since 2009, have been excessive, creating a surplus of renewable credits that can be rolled over to future years.
Also: Renewable energy standard proposal raises debate over costs, jobs/AP http://bit.ly/SLLf22
What Happened to the Solar Renewable Energy Credit Market in New Jersey?/Renewable Energy World
If interested in discussing energy matters, you can contact Court Rich, director of Rose Law Group’s Renewable Energy Implementation Department, crich@roselawgroup.com
