Guinn proposes trust to back plant financing

Monday, July 12, 2004 | 10:46 a.m.

After months of failed attempts to get new renewable energy power plants built in Nevada, Gov. Kenny Guinn on Friday announced a proposal to shore up financing trouble that had stalled development.

The Temporary Renewable Energy Development trust is designed to give renewable developers additional guarantees that they will receive a return on their investments, Guinn said in a press release. Developers had complained that because of the shaky financial condition of Nevada Power Co. in Las Vegas and Sierra Pacific Power Co. in Reno, financiers had been hesitant to fund the deals.

Under the proposal, which must receive state Public Utilities Commission approval, all payments from ratepayers earmarked for renewable energy will go directly into the trust and then be paid out to developers.

Under a 2001 law handed down by the Nevada Legislature, an increasing percentage of the state's electric utilities' portfolios must come from renewable sources. Lack of financing and the resulting lack of new resources have prevented the utilities from meeting those standards in the initial years of the mandate.

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