Boulder City attracts new ideas for alternative energy

Bill Erin

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008 | midnight

It has been said that what we need to solve the energy problem in the U.S. is 10,000 people working in their garages on ideas for alternative energy.

Of those 10,000, maybe 1,000 will come up with ideas that are feasible. Of those 1,000, maybe 100 will go forward and see their inventions developed. Of those 100 innovators, maybe two will come up with major, energy-producing innovations of the future.

The reference to garages, of course, goes back to the days of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and the Wright brothers. It is symbolic of American ingenuity and inventiveness.

Three such small, inventive ideas or projects have shown up in Boulder City.

The furthest along in Boulder City is the NTS Development Corp.'s project near the wastewater plant. This project — already the recipient of federal grant money and basically under the supervision of UNLV — has plans on the drawing board and has been leased land by the city at $1 a year.

The second idea, presented before the City Council twice by Mike Little of Landfill Alternatives, proposes an energy recovery pilot plant to eat up Boulder City's landfill by converting most of it to energy with a method similar to that of the backyard compost piles that many small town residents and farmers use.

They, however, rely on manure as one of the catalysts. Since there is no manure in the landfill (that anyone knows about), Little's process is somewhat more complicated.

A third idea comes from David Miller of Camino, Calif. He has formed the company of Miller & Miller to proceed with his idea. He refers to it as similar to a turbo-electric power plant using the sun to fire the boiler with nothing going in but solar heat and nothing coming out but electricity.

Miller is moving his company here because Boulder City not only has the sun needed but is located in the midst of an already-established electric power distribution system. It's a feature that adds to Boulder City's attraction for solar power. We are in the middle of the web of power lines constructed when Hoover Dam was built.

I talked to Scott Hansen, director of public works, about these projects and the attitude or response of the city to them and other ideas that may be presented. He said the city was prepared to give all the assistance possible.

The city realizes the potential and that leasing the land for the projects could be a boon to its financial situation. However, in the case of NTS, since it is a nonprofit research and development project, the city leased the small plot of land for $1. All profit-making organizations, Hansen said, should pay for land according to appraised value.

Hansen pointed out that the biggest stumbling block is water, and the city is looking for projects that don't use much water.

I asked Hansen about how far the city was going to encourage ideas and development. He said a good question was, "How much money should Boulder City spend on research and development?"

I asked Hansen's opinion on whether Boulder City should establish a staff position with someone knowledgeable in the solar field to solicit projects and oversee projects already under way, much as a building inspector does.

Hansen was doubtful whether such a position would be justified. He felt it was better to rely on proven consultants for individual projects.

Solar and alternative energy projects are going to become more and more of an issue for the City Council.

Will aspiring entrepreneurs like Mike Little and David Miller find a sympathetic City Council to help them forge ahead on their own in the spirit of Henry Ford and American enterprise? Or should they take their ideas to large, established corporations for implementation?

Bill Erin is a Boulder City News columnist.