Utility executive makes case for West
Nevada’s electric utilities, which are developing a $3.8 billion coal-fired power plant, seized a chance Thursday to tell Congress why they should not be burdened with big expenses to control carbon dioxide emissions from the plant.
Congress wants to place new limits on carbon dioxide emissions in an effort to reduce global warming.
Lawmakers are considering bills that would set caps on carbon dioxide emissions, allocate carbon dioxide limits and allow businesses to buy and sell the carbon dioxide credits for carbon allocations.
Roberto Denis, senior vice president of Sierra Pacific Resources, urged a Senate panel Thursday to make the cap-and-trade system fair for growing areas of the West that need to build new coal-fired power plants.
He argued against a cap-and-trade system that would give credits to existing carbon-dioxide polluters while requiring new plants in growing states like Nevada to buy carbon credits or allocations.
The issue looms large because Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power Co. are developing the 1,500-megawatt, coal-fired Ely Energy Center.
If the Nevada utilities are forced to buy carbon credits from other industries for the Ely center, the cost of power and retail rates for power will be higher, analysts say.
“We believe that caps must be applied with great care to avoid inequitable distribution of carbon allowances,” Denis told the Senate Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Innovation in a hearing Thursday.
Otherwise, states with mature economies in the East would get allowances for existing carbon pollution sources and booming states, like Nevada, might need to buy credits to build and operate new coal-fired plants needed to serve the growing population, Denis said.
“CO2 emission allowances must be distributed taking into account both historic and projected use of carbon,” Denis said.
Denis urged Congress to set aside carbon allowances for growth states like Nevada as it did in the 1990 Clear Air Act which created a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide.
Coal-fired power plants throw off larger quantities of carbon dioxide than plants that burn natural gas do. Yet, Nevada Power believes it needs to build a coal-fired plant at Ely, because the utility already gets three-quarters of its power from gas-fired plants.
Sharp increases in gas prices in recent years have caused Nevada Power to seek large rate increases to compensate for the higher fuel costs.
Nevada should be given consideration for keeping its carbon dioxide emissions low in the past, for renewable energy development which reduces the need for conventional power plants and for energy conservation, Denis said.
Nevada will lead the nation in the production of solar power and geothermal power late this year, Denis said. He pointed to the 64-megawatt Nevada Solar One plant expected to start operating this spring in the Eldorado Valley and the first 10 megawatts of a PowerLight solar power plant scheduled to be complete by year’s end at Nellis Air Force Base.
