There is some good news on Nevada’s renewable energy scene. For those of you who have been waiting for the right opportunity to invest in a solar electric (photovoltaic or PV) system for your home or business, this might be the time to jump in. Prices are down, efficiency is up, incentives are strong and the return on investment for solar has never looked better.
Energy
My last column focused on our man-made solar eclipse, some of the damage that results from drilling for fossil fuels and ways we can reduce our need for natural gas by using the sun to heat water and even our homes. A new solar hot water rebate program is in the works for Nevadans, similar to the rebates already in place for photovoltaic (PV) systems. The program details are not finalized but it will be available to NV Energy and Southwest Gas customers.
Green building, the term coined to describe ecofriendly, sustainable construction, is spreading like wildfire. Government agencies and businesses are increasingly realizing green building’s myriad benefits for worker recruitment and retention, productivity and job satisfaction.
President Barack Obama came to Las Vegas bearing gifts, including a $2.9 million grant for Nevada Solar One, the third-largest concentrated solar power plant in the world and an international star of “green energy,” a U.S. administration official has told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
There was a time when a solar eclipse struck fear into the hearts and minds of those who did not understand what caused the sun to briefly disappear during the middle of the day. Now when the moon casts its shadow while passing between the Earth and sun we enjoy the relatively rare experience.
Local power utility NV Energy has agreed to a 20-year deal to buy electricity from a wind farm planned near Ely.
KINGMAN, Ariz. — A solar power plant being billed as the largest in the United States is being proposed for a site outside Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
It’s an overused term yet to be fully embraced by the average consumer, but “green building” dominated the 2010 International Builders Show in Las Vegas, from seminars to the 1,100 exhibitors of home-building products, materials and construction techniques.
WASHINGTON — Sen. Harry Reid said Thursday the Senate will debate a sweeping climate change bill this spring, and he will use it as a vehicle to seek more federal research dollars and more generous tax credits for geothermal development.
An interim legislative committee on Tuesday asked the state Public Utilities Commission to investigate a new form of electric rate that supporters say would boost “green” energy jobs.
Federal money is on the way to help companies develop as much energy from the ground in Nevada as Hoover Dam generates from the Colorado River.
ELY — Construction of White Pine County’s first commercial wind turbine farm could begin as early as next summer and bring up to 200 workers to the rural area, project officials said.