Nevadans study alternative, renewable energy sources

Monday, Nov. 27, 2000 | 11:02 a.m.

With the cost of fossil fuels rising, the Nevada Electric Energy Policy Committee is considering what renewable energy resources could do for the state's electricity supply.

The committee this month began studying the status of solar, wind and geothermal resources in Nevada -- long touted by environmental organizations, but deemed too expensive to develop commercially by most energy companies.

A spokeswoman for Nevada Power Co. said when natural gas prices were at low levels last year, it cost 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour to produce electricity with the gas-powered generating plants.

Sonya Headen said that price has now climbed to 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour.

By comparison, the most efficient wind energy generators can produce electricity for about 4 cents per kilowatt-hour.

The 17 energy policy committee members, meeting in Las Vegas and Carson City by teleconference, also received a report on water and air quality issues as the bipartisan panel appointed by Gov. Kenny Guinn prepared to issue its report on energy policy by Jan. 15.

Commission Chairwoman JoAnn Kelly, a former member of the Public Utilities Commission, said the group would begin voting on some of the noncontroversial recommendations regarding energy assistance programs at the committee's next meeting this week.

In December, the group will debate topics that could draw differing points of view. When the final report draft is assembled in January, in may include dissenting points.

Renewable energy could produce some contention -- not that committee members aren't going to be for it, but over to what extent renewable resources should be incorporated in planning for energy supply.

Kelly said renewable resources in the state have tremendous potential and they may become even more attractive if federal legislation is extended on tax credits for all renewable energy sources. The committee was told Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., is pushing for the same credits for geothermal energy production and other renewables as is currently available for wind energy development.

Kelly said geothermal energy sources have potential in Northern Nevada.

Geothermal energy is produced from underground heat that reaches the Earth's surface in some locations. The national Geothermal Resources Council says that when geothermal resources are harnessed, they are among the most efficient of the renewable sources.

But attracting investors to develop geothermal is difficult because of the risk. A change in the geology beneath the Earth can affect the volume or pressure of an energy source. The superheated water source also is filled with minerals that can corrode pipes faster normal water sources, making it more expensive.

On the solar energy front, Kelly plans to research a project undertaken by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District in which rooftop solar photovoltaic units produce electricity that can be redirected back to the utility grid.

Because of the large capital investment -- the rooftop solar panels cost between $7,000 and $10,000 each -- the solar electricity producers are the least cost-effective.

But the most cost-effective of the renewables, wind power, is another area that will receive the committee's study.

Nevada Test Site land has been identified as having excellent conditions for wind-power generation.

The American Wind Energy Association has predicted that the $1.5 billion wind energy market will increase tenfold in the next decade due to advancements in technology. Kelly said the newest wind turbines that generate electricity are larger and taller than those in the windfarms of Southern California.

Don Aiken of the Independent Concerned Scientists told committee members that there are more savings to be realized from renewable sources than the price of fuel. He said by developing renewable sources in Nevada, the state would be less vulnerable to market pressures from other regions. He also said renewable energy plants would build an employment base in the state and help the local economy instead of another state's.

Another benefit, he said, is that by relying on geothermal, solar and wind resources, the state's air would not be polluted by the burning of fossil fuels at existing and planned gas-fueled power plants.

Aiken said renewable energy development has been thwarted by the nation's utility companies, which he said are more interested in short-term profits for shareholders than long-term energy policy.

Walter Higgins, chief executive officer of Sierra Pacific Resources Inc., the parent company of Nevada Power -- and a member of the committee -- said Aiken's comment was a generalization and that his company is interested in renewable resources as well as conventional sources of fuel.