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President Barack Obama greets people after arriving at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas on Wednesday, March 21, 2012.
By Conor Shine (contact) 
Thursday, March 22, 2012 | 2 a.m.
President talks energy in Boulder City
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KSNV coverage of President Barack Obama stopping in Boulder City to talk at a solar energy plant, March 21, 2012.
President Barack Obama kicked off a four-state tour promoting his energy policies Wednesday in a solar field in Boulder City.
The president’s visit was short — he stayed in Nevada only three hours before boarding Air Force One to travel to his next stop in New Mexico — meaning there wasn’t time to grab a slice of pizza.
But the commander-in-chief’s visit still generated significant buzz in Southern Nevada, where local and state officials hope that renewable energy will play a part in revitalizing the economy.
Here are several scenes from the president’s visit Wednesday:
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The greeting
After touching down at McCarran International Airport shortly before 11:30 a.m., Obama was welcomed to Nevada by Clark County Commission Chairwoman Susan Brager.
Brager said Obama greeted her by name as she handed the president a Clark County pin as a souvenir.
“He has so much to attend to and so much to do. … For someone to be that detailed, it was great,” Brager said of the president’s personal greeting.
Although their exchange was brief, Brager said she encouraged Obama to continue working to improve education throughout the country and to provide more support for homeowners struggling with foreclosure and underwater mortgages.
“He was very cordial. He looks right at you,” Brager said of Obama. “He was very personable.”
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No traffic tie-ups for the president
After greeting the small crowd at the airport, Obama quickly ducked into a black SUV, and the presidential motorcade made the 30-minute drive from McCarran to El Dorado Valley, home of Copper Mountain Solar 1.
The procession included several black SUVs, along with multiple vans for media and staff. A police escort that included cruisers and motorcycles cleared the way for the president, blocking traffic as the motorcade made its way down Russell Road, to Interstate 515 and on to U.S. 95.
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Getting a glimpse of Obama
Wednesday’s events weren’t open to the public, and the motorcade’s route was not announced for security reasons.
But that didn’t stop locals from camping out spots along the road to cheer and wave as the presidential motorcade passed.
The trip to Boulder City drew significantly less fanfare, with about 40 people gathered in the parking lot of the Railroad Pass casino and scattered groups the rest of the way there.
One man was so enthused he took his shirt off and began waving it above his head as the motorcade passed by on U.S. 95.
The return trip in the early afternoon drew larger crowds, as people lined Russell Road waving American flags, taking pictures and cheering as the motorcade rolled past.
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Touring Copper Mountain
Made up of about 1 million solar panels and covering more than 400 acres, Copper Mountain Solar 1 is a vast site in the middle of the desert.
Obama was driven to the middle of the field and received a brief tour from Sempra CEO Jeffrey Martin and Sempra executives John Sowers and Kevin Gillespie.
The president peppered the three with questions, asking about how much power the panels produce and how they are installed.
The president also asked whether the panels rotated to track the sun across the sky. They don’t, one of the Sempra executives explained, because the type of panel used provides similar efficiency whether it’s in a fixed array or rotates.
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Dressing for the weather
The weather Wednesday was fitting for an outdoor tour of a solar field. With the sun shining brightly on a warm afternoon, Obama ditched his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves for his tour and speech.
“How many days of sunshine do you get here in a year?” Obama asked one of the Sempra executives.
The answer was 320 days, to which the president responded: “Pretty good.”
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In the audience
In addition to the media and White House staff, about 100 other people, including Sempra employees and local politicians, were on hand at the solar field for Obama’s speech.
Among the attendees was Mayor Roger Tobler, who was praised by Obama as “a big supporter of solar energy.”
Boulder City Council members Cam Walker, Duncan McCoy and Rodney Woodbury were also at the event with their families. Clark County Commissioners Chris Giunchigliani and Tom Collins and County Manager Don Burnette also were in attendance.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar sat in the front row wearing a large cowboy hat. His presence was a positive for Boulder City, said Walker.
“The next solar facilities (in Boulder City) require Bureau of Land Management approval to cross corridors where there are power lines,” Walker said. “Having Secretary Salazar there shows the president’s commitment to being involved in the progress of our energy zone.”
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Praise for Boulder City
“It’s great to be in Boulder City,” Obama said as he began his speech at the solar field.
The president briefly touched on the effects of the recession on Southern Nevada and the local housing market.
He praised the community’s resilience and promoted the potential that renewable energy projects have to revitalize local economies like Boulder City.
“You haven’t given up. You looked around at this flat, beautiful land and all this sun … and decided that Boulder City was the perfect place to generate solar power,” he said. “This is an extraordinary opportunity for the community.”
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The speech, and the children
During his speech, Obama chided “some politicians” for not fully supporting renewable energy and said the country’s leaders have waited too long to solve its energy problems.
To help make his point, Obama used three local children sitting in the front row of the audience.
“When I was the age of these guys right here,” Obama said, pointing to Anna Walker and brothers Seth and Elias Woodbury, “when I was 10, 11 … and my grandparents were complaining about long gas lines, we were talking about how we were going to do things differently. Thirty, 40 years, and we keep on doing the same stuff. We keep on punting. We keep on putting it off.”
Anna’s father, Boulder City Councilman Cam Walker, said after the president’s remark, the family was swarmed by cameras.
“My daughter had a very big smile on her face,” said Walker, who attended with his wife and three children. “It was a great experience, one I hope my children will never forget.”
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Thoughts on the Hoover Dam
Although the president didn’t make it out to the dam, he used it as an example of the importance of taking a long-term view when it comes to energy projects.
“Eight decades ago … the people of Boulder City were busy working on another energy project you may have heard of,” he said. “Like today, it was a little bit ahead of its time; it was a little bit bigger than this solar pant — it was a little louder, too. It was called the Hoover Dam … (and) even today, it stands as a testimony to American ingenuity, American imagination, the power of the American spirit.”
Obama's new found embrace of an "an all of the above" energy strategy that Obama ran against in 2008 is laughable. One of Obama's first acts as President was an Executive Order to rescind the federal lands and offshore tract that Bush opened up to drilling. Obama's second act was to slow-walk permitting to 1/3 the releases.
Obama acknowledges We now produce LESS domestic oil then we did 9 years ago.
The solar plant only has a dozen workers
Obama has emphasized increasing oil production in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and else where which is more expense to drill and ship and have no enviromental controls. Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline but now want to take credit for the southern portion which only needs States approval.
Obama was fulfilling one of his most important 2008 campaign pledges. Obama in 2008 rejected an "All of the Above" energy strategy in favor of price rationing.
Gas price are up to $4.25 a gallon at the pump and Obama was ecstatic. Then In a news conference Obama said oops he is concerned about gas prices affecting his re election
When Obama took office it was $1.84 per gallon. At $4.25 that is $335 billion of lost disposable income. And we still have a annual $500 billion dependence on oil from other countries.Obama is conditioning us to accept $5 gas.
We still hear the old Democrat canard that speculators are driving the price of oil - but but but these are the same speculators who were speculating when Obama inherited a gasoline price of $1.84. And Obama passed Dodd-Frank to eliminate speculation. And Obama has had a gouging board on guard for three years.
In Obama's flat earth mantra - Another Obama canard is that we only have 2% of the world's oil reserves so we need to ween off oil - whereas we have known untapped US reserves of 200 years at current consumption level.
Every $1 increase cost consumers $140 billion in disposable income. Consumers must use all of that temporary payroll tax rollback to get to work.
On February 23 - Obama made a major speech on high gas prices. He told us that we had to accept high gasoline prices. And to solve the problem some time in the future we need to produce more solar and wind energy. Oh and Obama has dropped the Carbon Cap and Trade Bill. Oh and he will promote growing algae. Obama did not mention that the weak dollar increase the price of oil. and after 3 years in control Obama still blames speculators.
Yo,.."Future" you might want to stop drinking the Fox News Koolade and start focusing on the long list of accomplishments our president has accomplished.
Everyone knows the oil conglomerates in this country are doing everything they can to keep america dependent on an unsustainable finite resource and hoping to bash our president when he clearly speaks the truth about the need for new technologies.
You're using the same ole Bush doctrine that belongs in the toilet.
And no, I haven't forgotten your good Sister Sarah's bogus ideology of drill-baby-drill.
You may want to "Get a Life".
I shudder to think what that 3 hour photo-op cost the over-burdened tax payers of the USA and Nevada.
So United_717 is insinuating presidents should not be campaigning using tax payers funds approved by congress.
Try telling that to the 43 previous presidents? Did I forget the battalion of secret service personell assigned to protect the republican nominees?
Walter, the other 43 presidents at least governed once in awhile.
Everyone knows the oil conglomerates in this country are doing everything they can to keep america dependent on an unsustainable finite resource and hoping to bash our president when he clearly speaks the truth about the need for new technologies.
unsustainable finite resource???? Really
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In Obama's flat earth mantra - Another Obama canard is that we only have 2% of the world's oil reserves so we need to ween off oil - whereas we have known untapped recoverable US reserves of 200 years at current consumption level.
Yo,.."Future" you might want to stop drinking the Fox News Koolade and start focusing on the long list of accomplishments our president has accomplished.
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So these are the accomplishments
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- Voters want an effective limited government - Obama wants a Union run bureaucracy, with political hack leaders that borrows 40% of every day
- Voters want jobs - Obama want a new envy 41% tax to bring down small business job creators (S-Corp and Sole proprietorships) while we have 25% underemployed.
- Voters want growth in the economy greater than the current dismal 2% - Obama wants more Regulation that slow it down like the ration based Obamacare, the inept Dodd-Frank that has stopped mortgages and small business loans, and stifling EPA rules shutting down our electric power industry and increased rates
- Voters want personal self-control, self determination and personal responsibility - Obama want government controls and mandates.
- Voters want an increase in America produced oil where we pay ourselves - Obama has spent $2 billion drilling in Brazil, $5 billion for a refinery in Columbia, and ask the Saudis to increase their output yet he has reduced approved drilling permit in America by 2/3s.
- Voters want American businesses to be competitive in the world - Obama want to increase small business tax rates for S-corps and sole proprietorships from 35% to 41%
- Voters want a healthcare system that is cost effective, that does not ration, and is actuary sound - Obama gave us Obamacare which imposes price controls, mandates buying policies, mandates policy coverage including mandating free contraception pills and abortion pills, and the healthcare can not be paid for.
- Voters want to bring entitlements in line with needs (means testing and age eligibility) and pay for them - Obama will not address Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid, and brags that 46 million Americans on food stamps.
- Voters want to have a strong preemptive nation defense - Obama apologies to everyone for America defending itself in the past and yet employes the Bush drone war killing civilians, executes foreign leaders, keeps Gitmo and Bagram open, double down in Afghanistan where our partners are killing us while we are giving them control the terrorist prisons.
<<So United_717 is insinuating presidents should not be campaigning using tax payers funds approved by congress.
Try telling that to the 43 previous presidents? Did I forget the battalion of secret service personell assigned to protect the republican nominees?>>
It costs the taxpayers $55,000 A DAY for secret service protection for 3 of the Republican candidates. Ron Paul refused the protection because he did not want the taxpayers to pay for something he can provide himself.
So let's not talk about the current President using Air Force One to visit around the country. That's part of his job. He is not doing anything that other presidents have done.
Uhhh... The price of gas WAS NEVER $1.84 in 2008.. EVER. Infact, it was $3.95 in spring of 2008 and it got higher. I'll buy $1.84 if it was 1996, but 2008? REALLY?
As soon as Alternative Energy gets Anywhere near being competitive to Fossil Fuels we should make the switch quickly and in the meantime keep pushing for breakthroughs in all technologies. I'm tired of the Wars our Military has to engage in to protect supplies. Tax Subsidies in the form of Corporate Welfare to Oil and Ethanol should be eliminated in favor of the New Technologies. As the last six or seven Presidents have said, we must rid ourselves of Foreign oil dependency, possibly President Obama with new Car Mileage Requirements, Natural Gas Trucking (No Fracking) and willingness to attempt many avenues (of which some will initially fail) will finally lead the way.
If your not fracking, your not serious.
<<... the other 43 presidents at least governed once in awhile"
And you know this as fact? I didn't realize you are that old to know what Washington did as President, or John Adams or....well, you get the picture.
Det_Munch, I can safely guess that the other 43 presidents didn't tell people they can't go to las vegas and blow a lot of taxpayer money and then go to las vegas and blow a lot of taxpayer money.