Gibbons’ energy proposals leave experts confused

Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2007 | 7:06 a.m.

Gov. Jim Gibbons announced a major energy initiative in his State of the State speech Monday, calling for the construction of a coal-to-liquids fuel plant in Nevada that would use rail lines to import coal, which would then be converted to diesel and jet fuel.

The proposal left many legislators and policy experts scratching their heads Tuesday. Nevada has an abundance of wind and solar energy sources but no coal, and the process consumes huge amounts of water, which is in short supply in Nevada.

Lawmakers said they expected the governor to provide more details Tuesday, but his energy adviser hadn't been named publicly. Nor was Gibbons available to answer questions about his idea, which apparently derived from a conversation with Dave Freudenthal, the governor of Wyoming, a major coal-producing state.

"After visiting with Wyoming Gov. Freudenthal and seeing what his state is doing, I will encourage the creation of a coal-to-liquids fuels plant in Nevada, similar to a successful plant in Wyoming," Gibbons had said.

Such was the strange rollout of the governor's agenda, which seemed to combine a comfort with the status quo and the sudden appearance of big ideas slipped into the nearly hour-long speech without much explanation.

Then, rather than try to sell his ideas to the public on Tuesday, or answer questions, the governor and his staff retreated. Gibbons wasn't in his office. His press staff didn't return calls.

Although the budget director and some department heads did appear before a legislative committee, they did not provide many details about the major proposals.

Republican lobbyist Pete Ernaut, who ran several State of the State addresses for former Gov. Kenny Guinn, defended the Gibbons rollout. He said the press coverage so far had been fairly positive, and said it was a good sign that Gibbons was being attacked from both the left and right. (Conservatives charged Gibbons with spending too much.)

"That usually means you've hit it down the middle," he said. As for public relations strategy, he pointed to the lull between now and the start of the legislative session, which means they don't need to be out front immediately.

The biggest announcement of the day-after turned out to be first lady Dawn Gibbons' wardrobe for the inaugural - "Bordeaux velvet, designed by Giorgio Armani, strapless, organza detail around the bust line with a matching velvet jacket highlighted in white silk satin and pleated collar."

The $10,000 dress was on sale for $6,000 at a Las Vegas boutique, a source familiar with the purchase told the Sun. The Gibbonses will donate the dress to the first ladies' collection of gowns at the Nevada State Museum after the inaugural festivities.

Following his address Monday, Gibbons was whisked out of the state Legislature through a side door, breaking recent tradition by refusing to answer questions about his priorities.

Moments later, new Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley sat behind her desk with a number of legislators on chairs and couches in her spacious office. The night's most boisterous applause had come when Gibbons announced Buckley as the state's first woman speaker of the Assembly.

Buckley didn't exactly return the favor after the speech. She and fellow Democrats sitting in her office seemed by turns baffled and contemptuous. They said many of the ideas offered by Gibbons, such as on affordable housing and mental health care, were put in place during the last legislative session.

Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, praised Gibbons' efforts to ease the intense burdens on the state's child welfare system, but she said she didn't understand why the initiative was left out of the speech.

Other ideas were judged dead-on-arrival, especially without a defense from the Gibbons administration, or at least a fuller explanation, neither of which was forthcoming.

One proposal was an extension of the Homestead Act to apply to second homes. The law protects a person's primary residence, up to a value of $350,000, in the event of a lawsuit so the homeowner doesn't end up homeless. The governor wants to raise that protection to $550,000 and allow it to include second homes, after payment of a voluntary fee of one-tenth of 1 percent of value.

"It's just baffling," Buckley said.

Other surprising proposals: As part of the autonomous education initiative, "Parents will be empowered with school choice," a provocative statement that will likely be adamantly opposed by teachers.

Also, absent state money to reduce Nevada's coming $3.8 billion shortfall for roads needed by 2015, Gibbons proposed a commission to study private-public partnerships in transportation projects, which could lead to tolls or even privatized roads.

As for the coal-energy plant, the Montana Environmental Information Center, a group that lobbies for environmental issues, has reported that 5 gallons of water are required to produce a gallon of liquid fuel. But it was the lack of coal in Nevada that puzzled legislators.

"That's the wackiest thing I've seen," Leslie said.

Sun Reporters Mary Manning and Stephanie Tavares contributed to this report.