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Friday, June 4, 2010 | 5:14 p.m.
Gov. Jim Gibbons
Sun Coverage
Nevada is serious about going solar.
The state already has more solar energy per capita than any other, but with its small population that hasn't meant much to solar developers and manufacturers.
Enter the state Office of Energy.
It announced this evening plans to contract with solar photovoltaic installers and developers in the state to build solar installations -- including panel-covered parking shades -- at several state buildings across Nevada.
The office is preparing a request for proposals that should be ready for developers and installers by the end of the month.
It is seeking proposals for projects at 15 specific sites, including nine in Clark County, as well as proposals for Department of Corrections sites.
Among the proposed projects are solar panel-covered parking shades at the Grant Sawyer building in Las Vegas, the Henderson, Flamingo Road and Decatur Boulevard Department of Motor Vehicle buildings, and shaded parking structures and removable solar installations on vacant land between Charleston and Oakey boulevards.
"We will lead by example and make use of clean solar power for state buildings," Gov. Jim Gibbons said in a statement. "We will save taxpayers millions of dollars in utility costs."
The new solar installations are to be paid for out of money set aside to pay electricity bills on state buildings.
The state is expecting the proposals to include contract details by which the state will pay the installer back the costs of components and installation through a set per kilowatt hour fee. With the cost of solar panels dropping over the past few years, the state expects the fee proposed by the installers to be less than the cost of buying electricity during the day from NV Energy.
The endeavor is inspired by a recently completed project at the state National Guard facility, which was overseen by state Energy Director Jim Groth.
hope it works very well
Overdue...Now when are we gonna see a real windmill farm like 1.5mw to 2.5mw per mill.
This is a good move. The PV industry is growing by leaps and bounds as the price of panels and other hardware fall. Grid parity is not far away and the added benefit of shaded parking will be a welcome relief for those who use it!
There is a alot of space around the prisons here in southern Nevada.
Nevada is ideal for solar AND wind energy. Wind Cubes should be installed on all commercial and government buildings. It should be mandatory for all new construction and all current buildings should be given a 10 year window to install wind cubes on their roof tops.
Another green step is to start replacing grass in many areas. Water is going quick!
Nevada can be both the "fun" state and the eco friendly state.
I like this!
Good for you. Great news.
Now if the mega resorts would put the money in replacing there windows with see thru solar panels, can you imagine the possibilities.
What happened to the Searchlight windmill farm? Maybe NIMBY or NI Harry Reid's BY.
Let see...years ago there were no fire suppression in any of the hotels unti after the great fire at the (OLD)MGM. Now every one of them has it because on one man Joe Neal. The casinos at the time got there Good Ole Boys to shut him down. The it happened. Now most of the hotels are Nevada style.
Now the state of Nevada can lead the way again with new power source.
Let's get it on.
Good, next we need light rail public transportation in order to take some cars and taxis off the roads and reduce our polution and oil usage.
And now we need a program which makes it affordable for homeowners to install solar energy. Not only for big houses which use huge amounts of energy.
With ALL the sunny days Nevada has in any given year...this should have been done years ago.
Great idea.....but I wonder how many jobs this is going to create? Barely enough to make a difference. And how do people get the experience to do this kind of work? I've looked and looked for schools, or programs that offer this kind of training, and if anyone finds one, let this newspaper know so they can pass along the information to the many jobless citizens of this city. And make the locals have hiring preference like Alaska does for its pipeline.
This newspaper needs to focus more on stories that are critical to the Las Vegas local population, like jobs, housing {both sales and foreclosure rates} and crime.
Too many "feel good" stories when the town is falling apart is not good journalism.
Give us the truth, we can handle it!
BP Solar is the world's largest solar electric company.
BP is the largest retailer of gasoline in the US. Marketing as AMOCO in the eastern United States and ARCO in the west, it has about 17,150 service stations nationwide.
http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=287
That sounds great for the State Government.
Now how about making solar available for each and every taxpayer in the Great State of Nevada and free us from holds NV Energy. This would be a giant step to help this economy turn-around.
Smart meters a for NV Energy best interest and not the taxpayers.They will make more money, because taxpayers will pay higher rates.
We need "real programs" that are available for every taxpayer's.
I'm a CA resident considering moving to Las Vegas. Every time I'm there I wonder why so few homes have solar panels. With an average of 292 days of sunny weather, Vegas represents an ideal location for solar powered homes. I can't help but think there may be collusion between the electric power company, and the home builders, to maintain the status quo. But that's just me!
This is simply excellent. Nevada should be the leader in renewable energy as we have the greatest resources and it appears; leadership is one of our strong suits as well. Great story