Where I Stand — Tim Hay: Clean energy crusade

Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2000 | 9:50 a.m.

Editor's note: In August Where I Stand is written by guest columnists. Today's guest, Tim Hay, is chief deputy attorney general for the Bureau of Consumer Protection.

In 1997 and again in 1999, the Nevada Legislature affirmed its commitment to offering customers a choice in how they will buy electricity in the future. Additional changes in how electricity is bought and sold are taking place in other states.

Eventually most customers will be offered different pricing options for electricity as well as options to choose renewable or "green" electricity. Currently over 90 percent of the electricity consumed in Southern Nevada is derived from fossil fuels, which have also been the lowest cost for consumers.

Cost, along with reliability, has been the focus of the attorney general's advocacy on behalf of Nevada's electric customers. Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa has made it clear that keeping down the cost while maintaining a high-quality electric system for Southern Nevada will continue to be the mission of our office as we work to assure that Nevada's residential electric customers benefit from competition.

As a competitive electric market develops in Nevada (and in other Western states) new generation and transmission facilities should be constructed to address future energy needs. In the long run, only new generations can address the shortages and price spikes that have characterized the nation's electricity market this summer. In addition, the changes that we will see in the marketing of electricity in Nevada also provide an opportunity for Nevada to take a closer look at its energy strategy.

For example, utilization of renewable energy is one way for Nevada to increase the reliability of its electric system while diversifying the energy sources upon which it relies. Surveys show that Nevada's electric customers are already well aware of the role that renewable, or "green," energy sources can play in protecting Nevada's environment as well as creating new jobs for Nevada's economy. Consumers want Nevada to produce clean energy. Across the country, electricity generated from fossil fuels creates 70 percent of the sulfur dioxide and 33 percent of the nitrogen oxide that degrades air quality.

Even though the pollution from this generation goes into our air, much of the money made from burning fossil fuels goes to states that are rich in these fuels. But Nevada is richer than any other state in renewable energy resources, especially solar, geothermal and wind energy. These green energy resources protect our air quality and could have a major impact in helping to diversify our economy and generate jobs, especially in rural Nevada, where these resources are in the greatest abundance.

In response to the customer surveys asking for more green energy options, our office, in 1997, drafted and helped to enact a net metering bill that allows electricity customers to use solar panels or a small wind turbine to literally run their electric meter backward, as well as a portfolio standard to ensure that a minimum amount of electricity consumed in Nevada is generated from renewable energy sources.

Solar panels, mounted on your roof or in your back yard, use silicon to convert sunlight into electricity. Nowhere in this country can that process be done as efficiently and effectively as in Southern Nevada. During the day customers can build up a credit with Nevada Power if they are generating more electricity than they consume. This credit can then be drawn back at night and the customer only pays for the "net" electricity consumed.

On top of all of the benefits a customer receives, the whole Las Vegas Valley benefits when expensive peak load plants have to produce less energy on a hot afternoon.

Another way for customers to reduce their electric bill is through solar hot water heating. Even though these technologies keep getting better and the costs keep going down, many customers just can't afford the upfront cost of these systems.

We are working with financial institutions to develop innovative and affordable ways for customers to take advantage of green energy. However, if we are to fully capture the benefits of our tremendous green energy resources, all levels of government need to work closely with private industry to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels while increasing the reliability and the diversity of our electricity sources.

With this kind of cooperation, there is a real potential that the Las Vegas Valley can be a new Silicon Valley, using silicon and other renewable resources to generate high-tech energy, export renewable products to other states and countries, and create high-tech jobs for Nevada.