Thursday, Oct. 30, 1997 | 11:24 a.m.
Solar power is bursting onto the energy scene in Southern Nevada if those attending a teleconference Wednesday announcing a new federal initiative is any indication.
Jan McAdams, an energy consultant, said solar-powered building has come down to earth in Las Vegas.
McAdams, along with the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Housing and Urban Development agency, are planning to build The Villas in Henderson, a 72-unit complex proposed for 10 acres in Henderson.
Besides affordable and accessible housing, The Villas will offer passive and active solar energy delivery by the spring of 1999.
In Pahrump, Jann Rucquoi is working on five acres to build an earth friendly retreat in the Mojave Desert.
The Masmouda Desert Retreat Center that Rucquoi started uses everything from sunlight, and produces power through straw bales to make houses.
McAdams and Rucquoi joined a room filled with others interested in the Clinton administration's Million Solar Roofs Initiative, announced by the president through televised links in 200 sites nationwide, including UNLV and the Community College of Southern Nevada.
The goal spelled out by Clinton is to convert sunlight directly to electricity using photovoltaic cells or heating water in a million homes, schools, businesses and federal buildings by the year 2010.
At present, fewer than 20,000 buildings use solar systems.
Clinton pledged to cap 20,000 federal buildings with solar cells to turn sunshine into electricity by the year 2010.
"Capturing the sun's warmth can lower the Earth's temperature," he said during the teleconference.
Since the federal government is the largest energy user, putting the sun to work starts there, said Energy Secretary Federico Pena. The U.S. owns half a million buildings worldwide and leads in production of solar technologies.
Solar power makes as much sense in Wisconsin as it does in Nevada, Pena said.
A million solar roofs will save the same energy as that used by 850,000 cars, Pena said. And consumers will one day sell solar power to their electric company, he said.
In Nevada, such a program, called net metering, is already underway, said Rose McKinney James, chief executive officer of the Corporation for Solar Technology and Renewable Resources.
The 1997 Legislature approved ways for homeowners and businesses to cut fossil fuel use through tax credits and a plan for paying to switch to solar or other alternative energy sources with Nevada Power Co. That plan is pending before the state Public Utilities Commission.
The president initiated the solar roof program and will take it to Japan in December to the global warming conference. He had announced the initiative in June, but had not unveiled details.
Builders, architects, utilities, developers and government officials will participate in the program with the help of the federal initiative.
Since the 1973 Arab oil embargo and its endless lines at gasoline stations, some Americans have embraced conservation and more efficient homes and offices.
For more information, the public may search the web at www.eren.doe.gov or call the DOE's hotline at 1-800-363-3732.
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