Nevada Power’s Green Power program delayed a few weeks

Monday, June 29, 1998 | 11:44 a.m.

The construction of the first solar array in Nevada Power Co.'s Green Power Option program has been delayed by a siting conflict where construction is planned.

Bill Jackson, manager of product development in Nevada Power's marketing department, said meetings with contractors have resolved where the array will be situated on a site offered by the Desert Research Institute, 755 E. Flamingo Road.

When the Green Power Option program was approved in March, organizers were hopeful that the first array would be built by June 1. Now, it appears it will be in place by mid-July.

The flat plate collector array is a solar photovoltaic panel system that converts sunlight to electricity. One 80-by-80-foot unit can produce 20 kilowatts of power a day, enough to serve about five homes.

Meanwhile, Nevada Power customers have received with their bills literature promoting the environmentally friendly power generation program. Customers are invited to either contribute a flat amount monthly or to round up their bill to the next highest amount in $5 increments.

Nevada Power, hoping to entice at least 3 percent of its 528,000 total customer base to participate in the program -- about 15,800 customers -- has gotten 300 to sign on in the first month the program has been in operation. Jackson considers that a good start, noting that he hopes to hit the 3 percent goal by the end of the program's fourth year of existence.

Jackson said 60 percent of those who have signed on to the program have opted to pay a flat rate ranging from $5 to $20 a month while the other 40 percent have chosen to round their bill payments up to the nearest $5 increment. The average contribution per participant so far: $6.40 a month.

The program is committed to developing enough arrays to produce 40 kilowatts of power. That should be accomplished with the first two arrays. Other arrays would be built as money flows into the program and Jackson expects to build 52 in four years.

He said the first array, a rectangular design covering about 6,400 square feet, is costing $172,000 to build and will be located at the Desert Research Institute. The problem with the DRI site is that there were questions about how the array would be positioned near footings for a bridge being built across the Flamingo Wash on the property.

Jackson said the DRI is offering the land for the array at no cost for 10 years with an option to extend the agreement another 10 years. He said other potential array sites at schools, on public buildings and even at some casinos have been identified, but he did not want to disclose locations until final agreements are signed. The next four site agreements are close to completion, he said.

He said even though funding isn't yet available, the task of finding sites for arrays is about complete.

A demonstration site at UNLV isn't a part of the program, but has been used to show what the arrays look like.

The array at the DRI site will produce about 16 kilowatts of power under peak conditions. Jackson explained that Las Vegas averages just over 6 1/2 hours of peak conditions a day.

In the first month that promotional material on the Green Power Option program has been available, customers comments have been favorable, Jackson said. He said that when asked by customers why they should make voluntary contributions to a program in which Nevada Power ultimately will profit, he said he explains that solar power is like recycling -- a practice that is more expensive, but is also more environmentally responsible.

He said customers that want to improve the quality of the environment and cut pollution have embraced the Green Power Option. Jackson also noted that Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., has a goal to turn the state into a center of solar technology.

Michael Niggli, president and chief operating officer of Nevada Power, said the Green Power Option program would continue when the company merges with Sierra Pacific Resources. His merger partner, Malyn Malquist, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Sierra Pacific, said his company doesn't have a similar program for Northern Nevada residents, but his staff is studying options based on what Nevada Power has done.

The closest environmental equivalent, he said, is Sierra Pacific's reliance on some geothermal energy sources.

In the state approvals required of the Green Power program, agreed upon by the Public Utilities Commission staff, the state bureau of Consumer Protection and the Corporation for Solar Technology Resources, customers who say they'll pay extra, but then don't make the payment won't have their electricity disconnected.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said her Consumer Protection staff will audit the program to ensure that no significant portion of the Green Power fund is used for administrative or marketing expenses.