Executive says senators back renewable power laws

Tuesday, June 17, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Four of the seven members of the committee promise to vote for the solar energy amendment, said Rose McKinney-James, chief executive officer of Corporation for Solar Technology and Renewable Resources, a nonprofit organization in Las Vegas.

Her slim majority assures the legislation will at least be considered by the full Senate, she adds.

McKinney-James had less success in the Assembly. "They were cordial, but they didn't act on it," she told the Senate committee.

The provision, an amendment to AB366 for electric utility deregulation, specifies that electric utilities and other power suppliers must obtain 0.2 percent of the electricity they sell in Nevada from solar, wind or other renewable energy sources. The minimum increases gradually to 1 percent by the year 2010.

The Nevada solar legislation follows the adoption of similar solar power incentive programs in Arizona and California.

The provision would start Nevada on the road to achieving energy independence through solar power, rather than being a net importer of fuel, advocates said at a Senate Commerce and Labor meeting last week.

Terry Vaeth, deputy director for the U.S. Department of Energy in Nevada, spoke of Nevada's history as a nuclear test site.

"Just as Nevada showed the way in the Cold War, Nevada can lead the way in energy independence as well," Vaeth said.

Other solar advocates said the legislation would help the state attract solar power manufacturers and create jobs for Nevadans. Amoco Corp. and Enron Corp., for example, established a joint venture to build and operate a 10 megawatt photovoltaic solar facility for the Nevada Test Site. The joint venture is negotiating with the government for a long-term contract.

Gov. Bob Miller, both U.S. senators from Nevada, U.S. Rep. John Ensign, D-Nev., and groups such as Citizen Alert and the Sierra Club back the legislation.