Quicken the pace

Fri, Oct 30, 2009 (3 a.m.)

As we have stressed repeatedly, Nevada has the potential to emerge as a national leader in the production of solar, wind and geothermal energy. If it plays its cards right, the state could develop a massive renewable resources industry that would attract entrepreneurs and investment while also producing jobs and cleaning the environment.

The only thing that seems to be slowing down the state in that pursuit is Gov. Jim Gibbons and his administration.

The Nevada Legislature did its part in May when it approved property and sales tax breaks for renewable energy development, a wise incentive given the fact other states have been working hard to develop their own green industries.

But it wasn’t until after complaints from lawmakers and potential developers were publicized about the slow pace of implementing those tax incentives that the governor’s office took action. David McGrath Schwartz reported last week in the Las Vegas Sun, a sister publication of In Business Las Vegas, that Hatice Gecol, the state’s new energy commissioner, said the application process for the tax breaks has been accelerated.

The governor’s office should not stop there. It should adopt the attitude that there is an urgent need for Nevada to aggressively pursue renewable energy development.

Renewable energy lobbyist Rose McKinney-James was on target when she told the Sun: “We’re on the verge of falling behind. Now that we have the commissioner in place, it’s very critical that we … get the show on the road.”

If the governor’s office fails to take that advice, it will represent yet another in a long string of blunders made by the Gibbons administration.