Ensign backs coal plants Reid opposes

And the Nevada Republican said he’s determined to make that happen — without circumventing existing environmental laws — despite intense opposition from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Reid has vowed to do everything he can to stop the proposed construction of three coal-fired plants, two near Ely and a third near Mesquite. The Democratic leader went on to say at a renewable energy conference he hosted earlier this month in Reno that the threat of global warming should preclude the construction of new coal-fired power plants anywhere in the world.

“We’ve talked about it. We disagree about it,” Ensign said. “He doesn’t criticize me for my position and I don’t criticize him for his position, but we strongly disagree on this.”

Ensign made the comments Thursday after touring a geothermal plant on the south edge of Reno. He said Northern Nevada has more geothermal energy than it can possibly use locally and the same holds true for eastern Nevada’s wind power.

“It is critical we have transmission lines between the east and the north and the south. We can bring wind power from the east, solar from south to north, and geothermal from north to south,” Ensign said.

“It will make our power supply very stable,” he said.

Industry leaders say the biggest obstacles to using renewable energy are a lack of transmission capability, the region’s mountainous terrain, major upfront expenses and an extensive environmental review process.

Ensign said the transmission hurdle can be overcome with the addition of the coal plants.

“For just the wind energy, it is cost-prohibitive,” he said. “And to bring the geothermal to the south, the cost is prohibitive. But if you combine those with the coal-fired plants, it justifies the cost.

“Without those transmission lines by the coal plants, we can never get the geothermal energy to the south.”

Reid said the Ely-area projects alone would require millions of tons of coal a year that in turn would generate millions of tons of pollution.

But Ensign said construction of the coal plants — combined with increased use of geothermal, wind and solar power — ultimately will reduce air pollution.