Editorial: Encourage renewable energy

Friday, March 8, 2002 | 10:27 a.m.

As the U.S. Senate debates an energy bill that proposes drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, lively discussions about renewable energy are being heard. The discussions hit home because Nevada, with its sun, wind and geothermal potential, could become a global center for renewable energy production.

The need to reduce dependence on Middle East oil is driving the need for a new energy policy. President Bush and Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, lead those emphasizing more domestic oil and gas production. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., Assistant Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., lead those who want conservation and renewable sources to play major roles in a new policy.

We line up with Daschle, Reid and Kerry when it comes to an energy policy that contains strong incentives for conserving resources and developing ways to emerge from the oil age. It would take decades to move totally away from oil and into a new energy market, possibly hydrogen, but there is no time like the present to start. Tiny projects have already proven that the technology is there. We just need an energy policy that feeds and nurtures it.

At the Nevada Land-Use Summit in Fallon on Wednesday, business people, environmentalists and government officials at local, state and federal levels agreed that Nevada is uniquely positioned to lead the way in developing renewable energy. The advantages nationally are well known -- renewable energy does not create air pollution and it can be produced at prices that remain stable. The advantage to Nevada is also clear -- new industry with growth potential creates new jobs.

The 2001 Legislature passed a law requiring Sierra Pacific, parent company of Nevada Power, to get 15 percent of its wholesale power from renewable sources by 2013. And Sen. Reid has sponsored legislation to provide a tax credit for renewable energy. Without such government initiatives, clean, renewable energy will be enjoyed, but by generations far removed from our lifetimes.