LETTER: Nevada solar power ballot question is a scam
Proposition 6 will be on the November ballot. It would freeze into the state constitution a requirement that 50 percent of Nevada’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2030. This would require new solar power plants to generate about 15 million megawatt hours of electricity annually.
These plants will require auxiliary batteries to move power from midday to the evening because otherwise there will be too much solar power at midday. With federal subsidies disappearing, this electricity will cost about $160 per megawatt hour. Electricity can be generated at a cost of $15 per megawatt hour — or 10 times less — in existing natural gas plants. The increased cost to Nevada consumers will be equivalent to enacting a 4 percent state income tax.
This wouldn’t have any significant effect on carbon dioxide emissions that mostly come from Asia.
Where are the institutions that should be protecting us from this scam: the Legislature, the Public Utilities Commission and the media?
