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StumbleHarry Reid leads tour of Nevada’s clean energy potential
Majority leader shows off state’s green projects under way
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) looks over a model of MGM Mirage’s CityCenter project during a Clean Energy Jobs tour Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009.
Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Sun Archives
- An unspoken energy summit goal: Reelect Reid (8-11-2009)
- Democrats: Green U.S. at grass roots (8-11-2009)
- Clinton: Efficiency efforts would bring jobs boost (8-10-2009)
- Natural gas gets attention where renewables ruled (8-10-2009)
- Summit to address workforce's role in clean energy shift (8-7-2009)
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One of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s mantras is that the emerging clean energy industry will create valuable and desperately needed jobs. On Tuesday, in the wake of his National Clean Energy Summit, he staged a short road show to illustrate his point.
He could have taken his five guests on a tour of the Ausra solar manufacturing plant near McCarran International Airport, or the green building and design exhibits at the Springs Preserve or the hundreds of acres of solar thermal and photovoltaic fields in the Eldorado Valley.
But he had something else in mind for his group, which included UNLV President Neal Smatresk; Jon Wellinghoff, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Van Jones, President Barack Obama’s green jobs czar; Cathy Zoi, the Energy Department’s assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy; and John D. Podesta, former chief of staff for President Bill Clinton and CEO of Monday’s energy symposium sponsor, the liberal Center for American Progress Action Fund.
With media in tow — but out of eavesdropping distance — Reid began the tour in a dirt parking lot off Charleston Boulevard near the Red Rock Canyon National Recreation Area.
This is the staging site for installing remote solar-powered radio equipment for Metro Police along a nearby ridge.
The equipment, and the air conditioning to cool the housings, are powered by 17-kilowatt photovoltaic arrays. Each panel and Bombard Electric’s solar installers must be flown to the sites by helicopter.
The project is providing short-term work for a handful of solar panel installers at a time when demand for their services is decreasing. NV Energy’s incentive program for solar photovoltaic installation is underperforming amid the recession. So when this job is done, it might be awhile before there’s another.
Reid’s next stop brought the razzle dazzle: a tour of CityCenter, one of the largest green building projects ever attempted. The massive Strip project is hoping for silver- or gold-level certification (platinum is the highest) under the Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) when it is completed in November.
The number of permanent jobs being created at CityCenter that are directly related to clean energy production was not addressed Tuesday.
The tour’s last stop was the new research labs at UNLV’s recently completed engineering building, home to an NV Energy-sponsored renewable energy minor at UNLV that will launch with the new school year.
The UNLV program will focus on providing a white-collar workforce of engineers and scientists who could attract more renewable energy projects to Nevada.
Reid said the three tour stops were representative of a larger wave of jobs coming in the near future for those willing to train for them.
The Bombard workers, for example, will be among the first in line for future photovoltaic contracts, the CityCenter workers will have hands-on green construction experience needed to secure green building contracts, and the UNLV renewable energy minor graduates could help attract more clean energy manufacturing to Southern Nevada.
“We’ve already created thousands and thousands of jobs,” Reid said. “It’s already here. You’re just beginning to see the best and the best is yet to come.”
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Another Las Vegas Sun/Harry Reid PR piece impersonating a legitimate news article.
At what point does a newspaper go from reporting the news to outright campaigning?
When it's the R-J out with a hit piece on Reid just about every day? And pushing a GOP poll showing Sue Lowden beating him? (HUH??!!) I love how Republicans love that, but hate how "horribly biased" The Sun is because they're not frothing at the mouth and attacking him every day.
I commend Senator Reid for his commanding support for green energy.
But I wish he'd do for the water issue what he has for coal: abandon tired, old, incredibly destructive ways (the pipeline) for new, sustainable solutions (conservation, closed system).
LVS...again blogging for Harry! Are there no limits?
"But I wish he'd do for the water issue what he has for coal: abandon tired, old, incredibly destructive ways (the pipeline) for new, sustainable solutions (conservation, closed system)."
Reid has big plans for the water resources. They want 3 dozen Concentreated Thermal Plants in Amargosa Valley alone. You like Nevada? You care about Devil's Hole pupfish? Just two 500 watt megawatt solar thermal plants need 6 acre feet of water per megawatt. That's 3,000 acre feet There is not that much water in Nevada.The solar industrial plans have litte chance of materialzing,but Reid wants you to invest in his boondoggles NOW!
If you believe in Reid, we got a great deal on swamp land for you!
Reid has the media falling all over his pipe (line) dreams, but the uneducated media refuses to give you the details...
atta boy harry...
you are doing a great job...
this is a great project...
green is good...
yucca is bad...
very very bad...
we don't want our kids to glow in the dark...
keep up the great work...
nevada is privileged to have the senate majority leader...
thanks buddy!!!
If you worship some carpet bagger named Joe Smith, I find no surprise you might worship some carpet bagger named Harry Reid.
YES! LV's #1 priority should be more neon instead of water.
And LV's #2 should be that mag-lev choo-choo to Disneyland.
After all, gambling was only down 14% in FY 2009 - the largest amount ever and more neon will help the empty planes find McCarran.
"Beam him up, Mr. Scott. He's been staring at the solar panels too long."
http://texexforgovernor.blogspot.com/
what's johnnie boy ensign doing these days???
sucking his thumb on mommy and daddy's basement floor???
preparing a defense for an ethics investigation???
sleeping with his new best friend's wife???
hmmm???
you still out there johnnie boy???
you cheating fraud!!!
Sunlizard,
Even if we grant your figures for water use for solar thermal, your statement about how much water the state has is nonsense.
Las Vegas uses much more than the 300,000 acre feet Nevada was alloted from the Colorado by using return flow credits.
Although out of date I think this puts paid to your completely wrong statement about how much water the state has:
http://water.nv.gov/WaterPlanning/wat-fa...
I wonder just what anyone can trust about what you write?
I don't like Reid very much at all, but building huge numbers of solar power generating facilities in or around Las Vegas makes good sense. We are one of the sunniest places in the nation after all.
doubledown_deadender said......
"If you worship some carpet bagger named Joe Smith, I find no surprise you might worship some carpet bagger named Harry Reid."
Hmmmmm....I'm confused. Harry Reid a carpetbagger? Born in Nevada, raised in Searchlight and educated in Henderson. I guess you and I have a different definition of a carpetbagger? Care to explain?
El Lobo, not to put words in anyone's mouth my take is this:
Carpetbaggers are like Travelers and politicians as they will tell you anything to buy their products; hence, Harry will spout anything to conjure votes. Especially among sheep and the weakminded.
You are referring Carpetbaggers as itinerrant salespeople.
Big difference
So this green energy is going to create jobs. What jobs? Washing the sand off the solar panels once a day? A job only an illegal will take.
El Lobo-
Don't even pay attention to the "usual suspects". They always do this. I bet they don't even know the origin of the term "carpetbagger".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpetbagge...
I just have to LMAO sometimes when I read the comments here. I wonder if they come here just because Shermie at The R-J gets pissy and likes to start a feud with The Sun every once in a while.
Krases: you call this sunny? You call this desert? Travel in a southern direction and check out Yuma, Arizona and Imperial Valley, Cali. That's where solar should go if it can ever be demonstrated that it's cost effective, which I doubt.
I really wonder if the "Harry Haters" ever really think about what they say and write?
Yep, Harry Reid is not perfect - so, what's your point?
Do any of you have anyone, anyone at all, that's willing to step up to the plate and dedicate their life to serving the people of Nevada in any manner close to what Harry Reid has done? Let alone someone, anyone, that is MORE qualified to do an even better job? NOPE YOU DON'T!
All you "Harry Haters" do is whine, snivel and complain - even when Harry is doing wonderful work - you just whine, snivel and complain MORE!
GET THIS: Senator Harry Reid is not only the Senior Senator from Nevada - he is the United States Senate Majority Leader! That makes him the Senior U. S. Senator in all of America boys and girls! Do you have any idea at all how much responsibility, respect and power that brings to the entire State of Nevada and all of us?
Hey, re-electing Harry Reid is a no brainer (and it's O.K. if you don't think Harry's perfect - he is not) - like you and me, Harry is human!
JEEESHE!
Think about the consequences of not re-electing Harry people? Do you want an undisciplined brat that cheats on his wife, with his best buddy's wife, and his wife's best friend, (who was an employee of Ensign) in Ensign and his wife's own house - to become the next Senior Senator from Nevada? What does those facts say about Ensign's mental health and moral judgement and conscious and character?
Are you people THAT NUTS?
Think about these things people - and keep in mind the "Harry Haters" are probably the same people that voted in the worst Governor in America and the history of Nevada - GIBBONS!
How about we do something different and re-elect those that are doing a good job, all things considered, and focus on getting the known lying, cheating, thieves OUT OF OFFICE!
All Sen. Harry Reid really wants is to hang onto the perks he's getting from the system. That's all he really cares about. Do not be diverted, deceived, or mesmerized by Harry's dirty, money-grubbing lies.
There's no shortage of sin in the world today. It's been around since the Garden of Eden and will clearly persist as long as Harry continues to divert our attention from serious issues. Issue like how we are going to pay the national debt!
Dishonest lumpenproletariats are more susceptible to his brainwashing tactics than are any other group. Like water, their minds take the form of whatever receptacle Harry puts them in. They then lose all recollection that Harry's sycophant, self-seeking ideas are rife with contradictions and difficulties; they're entirely brassbound, meet no objective criteria, and are unsuited for a supposedly educated population.
Would these people believe Harry if he said: an open party with unlimited access to alcohol can't possibly outgrow the host's ability to manage the crowd?
Believe me, I would give everything I own to be wrong on that point, but the truth is that mass anxiety is the equivalent of steroids for Harry. If we feel helpless, Harry is energized and ramps up his efforts to consign our traditional values to the rubbish heap of Marxism.
Thanks Harry, but now the true test. Since you are a Senator(see how I used caps for respect) I believe Immigration Laws are under your federal jurisdiction, am I right? So to maybe give you more of a chance to maybe get re-elected you should use e-verify on every construction sight around Nevada, in every casino around Nevada, and weed out all the illegals to make room for the over 100,000 American citizens here in Nevada who are out of work. This is not a promise, because I can't vouch for the citizens who have suffered up to this point on your inactions. Show us how much patriotism you have, it couldn't hurt.
I just want to say that wherever you look, you'll see Harry enforcing intolerance in the name of tolerance. You'll see him suppressing freedom in the name of freedom. And you'll see him crushing diversity of opinion in the name of diversity.
What ungrateful thing is Harry going to do next? Inject even more fear and divisiveness into political campaigns? Hinder economic growth and job creation? Mollycoddle noxious nonentities? In any case, I apologize to the Nation for Harry's ideas, but his version of paternalism is dangerous.
It troubles and amazes me to think that Harry has a talent for inventing a fantasy world. A world where cars that run on petrol are poisoning us, and coal plants with clean coal technology are ruining the earth.
It is pointless to fret about the damage already caused by his Marxist positions. The past cannot be changed. We must cope with the present if we hope to affect our future and chastise him for not doing any reputable research before spouting off. As I have tried to show in this post, disreputable buggers are deeply impressed by Sen. Harry Reid's guff. As long as you remember that, we may yet be able to free people from the fetters of alarmism's poisonous embrace.
http://ia360612.us.archive.org/2/items/
EndangermentAnalysisForGreenhouseGasEmissionsUnder
TheCleanAirAct/Endangermentcommentsv7b1.pdf
Johnathan Ab, You must be very secure in your job to make the statements that you have on this post. How would you feel if you were laid off and found out that your job was taken by an illegal alien? How would you feel that when you were laid off you realized that your Federal Senator hasn't done a damn thing to correct this problem or protect you as a citizen. In fact , he has been pushing and sponsering bills to give these immigrants who are breaking federal laws a pathway to citizenship. This will drive citizens who are lucky enough to be working at this time into paranoia, and also frustrate our citizens who are trying to survive with unemployment checks knowing that the illegal immigrants are getting jobs before them.Harry Reed is not for Nevadans, and is not for the American citizen.
Johnathan,
Harry exhibits an air of superiority. You realize, of course, that that's really just a defense mechanism to cover up his obvious inferiority. In theory, ignorant and highly emotional persons are frequently swayed by his bombast and fustian words. But in reality, he says that people are pawns to be used and manipulated. What treachery!
We must act honorably. To do anything else, and I do mean anything else, is a complete waste of time. Harry's apothegms are merely a stalking horse. They mask his secret intention to perpetuate the myth that every word that leaves his mouth is teeming with useful information. You don't need to look far to see that, but see it you will! Education is the answer, not putting your ears toward invidious, unholy mind games that are the drivel that masquerades for discourse on this topic.
The facts are in: Sen. Harry Reid believes that those rights and protections which give us voice in a democratic society are the cause of the current "social chaos" and must be thwarted or dismantled. This is his vision for America!
Harry Reid. Bad for America, bad for Nevada!
Fremmasmind,
Never shop at those places. Send them a letter telling them why. Remember Circuit City. They fired all their seasoned workers and hired new people for 30-50% less. The public acted. One year latter they where out of business.
It does seem like this paper is campaigning for this "has been" Senator. Harry Reid needs to go!
Harry is unbeatable in 2010. The healthcare reform bill will seal his doom in 2016, if he isn't recalled by 2012.
So, who do you people suggest we should elect to replace John Ensign?
Then, tell me who in all of Nevada is more qualified than Harry Reid please?
All I'm asking for are a couple of names that have half a chance of actually getting elected - and please skip the whining, sniveling and complaining - just the names PLEASE?
John Ensign will win easily (again) in 2012.
This is a non-story. The real story is that anyone with a decent non-leftwing agenda record can beat "Pinkie" Reid in 2016, or we can recall him before he sells our IRA's and T-notes to illegal mexicans.
Well, afveteran never learned to think while in the military and is still 100% resistant to the notion.
Don't you have a town hall meeting to go shout at somewhere?