Energy

Company dumps big Laughlin solar project, says market won’t support it: Friday, June 14, 2013; By Conor Shine; A Chinese-backed company is pulling the plug on a multibillion-dollar solar project near Laughlin after it was unable to find customers for the power that would have been generated there, a Clark County spokesman said Friday.

Lack of competition is bad news for ratepayers: Saturday, June 8, 2013; OTHER VOICES:; Mo Klefeker; As CEO of a company that owns two gas-fired power plants in North Las Vegas, I want to invest in the Nevada economy. I want to hire contractors, pay taxes and provide as many jobs as possible. But if Senate Bill 123 is signed into law, those things will become difficult, if not impossible. Worse, companies like mine may go out of business.

For clean energy summit, a national focus through state initiatives: Thursday, June 6, 2013; By Karoun Demirjian; Sen. Harry Reid and John Podesta, head of the Center for American Progress, said Thursday the upcoming sixth annual National Energy Summit in Las Vegas would yield innovative ideas to improve the sustainability and resilience of the national energy grid.

Proposal to relax city's energy code conflicts with state law, Attorney General's Office says: Wednesday, June 5, 2013; By Conor Shine; A proposal to relax the city's building energy codes to make renovating older buildings cheaper for business owners has hit a snag after the Attorney General's Office found the changes conflict with state statute.

Las Vegas should stick with its energy code: Tuesday, June 4, 2013; OTHER VOICES:; Jennifer Turchin and Randy Lavigne; If ever there was a case to call a proposed ordinance a rotten apple, that case is at hand with one on Wednesday’s Las Vegas City Council agenda.

If Buffett buys NV Energy, will customers trust the company more?: Tuesday, June 4, 2013; By Eli Segall; When retiree Shelley Chin taught junior high school in Henderson, she told her students about people like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, billionaire businessmen whose hard work paid off big.

NV Energy bill wins passage, signaling state's shift from coal: Tuesday, June 4, 2013; Legislature 2013: Opponents fear a weakening of regulatory oversight, exposure to higher rates for customers; By Andrew Doughman; Legislators have officially moved Nevada out of the coal business. In a vote Monday night, the Assembly approved a shift away from coal-fired power plants and mandated investment in renewable energy and natural gas.

Lone legislator makes last-ditch effort to change major energy bill: Sunday, June 2, 2013; Legislature 2013:; By Andrew Doughman; Assemblyman Ira Hansen failed today to amend a major energy bill in a manner that he said would protect Nevadans from higher energy bills.

Let's remember: Warren Buffett's power play is to make money: Wednesday, May 29, 2013; By J. Patrick Coolican; Shouts of joy rang out among Nevada’s political elite on the news that an entity owned by famed investor Warren Buffett is buying the state’s electric monopoly, NV Energy.

Sandoval defends Public Utilities Commission after Reid's criticism: Wednesday, May 29, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon; Gov. Brian Sandoval on Wednesday defended the Public Utilities Commission — a regulatory panel he appoints — after U.S. Sen. Harry Reid described it as a "little bureaucracy" with too much power over the energy market in Nevada.

NV Energy operations unlikely to change with purchase by Warren Buffett company: Wednesday, May 29, 2013; Yackira expects to remain as CEO, doesn't foresee layoffs; By Eli Segall; Next time you pay your power bill, just send the check to Warren Buffett. The billionaire investor’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. reached a $5.6 billion cash deal to acquire NV Energy.

Harry Reid lambastes PUC for standing in the way of NV Energy bill: Wednesday, May 29, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon; U.S. Sen. Harry Reid lambasted the Nevada Public Utilities Commission this week, accusing the energy regulators of trying to scuttle a bill before the state Legislature that would require NV Energy to stop using coal to produce electricity.

Commission's vote to oppose NV Energy bill 'ticks off' legislator: Wednesday, May 15, 2013; Utilities:; By Cy Ryan; The state Public Utilities Commission today said NV Energy’s bill in the Nevada Legislature to close the Reid-Gardner coal-powered plant was fatally flawed and would not protect Las Vegas customers from higher rates.

State receives $20 million grant for solar research: Monday, May 13, 2013; Education: Harry Reid calls grant 'another important step toward a more sustainable energy future'; By Karoun Demirjian; Nevada’s top higher education officials announced Monday that the state has won a $20 million grant to sponsor a large-scale research project on solar energy and water.

Bill in Legislature would cut loopholes out of Nevada's renewable energy standards: Monday, May 6, 2013; LEGISLATURE 2013:; By Andrew Doughman; Legislators are pushing a bill that would remove loopholes from Nevada’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, which mandates that 25 percent of Nevada’s energy will come from renewable sources by 2025. Loopholes are provisions allowing energy companies such as NV Energy to meet the standard through measures other than actual renewable energy production.