Stephanie Tavares

Story Archive

Environmentalists make plea for desert preservation: A group of environmentalists says renewable energy goal shouldn’t come with destruction of native plant, animal life; Tuesday, March 23, 2010; Some environmentalists are breaking ranks and fighting the solar industry. The problem, as they see it, is that tens of thousands of acres of mostly pristine desert is slated for bulldozing to accommodate utility-scale solar power plants in Nevada and across the Southwest.
Power plant developer will use natural gas instead of coal: Monday, March 22, 2010; The developer of a planned coal fired power plant in Mesquite has announced it is formally withdrawing its application with the Bureau of Land Management and is reverting to an earlier plan for a natural gas fired power plant on the site.
Amargosa Valley solar power plant plan clears another hurdle: Monday, March 22, 2010; The Bureau of Land Management is ready to release the draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Amargosa Farm Road Solar Energy Project planned for the Amargosa Valley.
West Las Vegas group converts vacant lot of land to community garden: Monday, March 22, 2010; A small group of Las Vegas community organizers thinks a patch of dirt in a long vacant lot can transform an entire community.
Nevada businesses pledge support for legislation on climate change: Thursday, March 18, 2010; A number of Nevada businesses have pledged their support of climate change legislation, Environment Nevada announced today.
County OKs plans for solar power plant near Primm: Thursday, March 18, 2010; The Clark County Commission on Wednesday approved plans for a large solar photovoltaic power plant near Primm.
Fees at Red Rock Canyon National Recreation Area rise on May 1.: Wednesday, March 17, 2010; Fees at Red Rock Canyon National Recreation Area are going up May 1.
Bombs away: As long as it's to seed park: Saturday, March 13, 2010; The National Park Service is planning to bomb a new park near Laughlin. Seed bomb, that is. The agency is building a park complex on land south of Davis Dam near Laughlin.
Feds offering millions to ranchers to help sage grouse bird: Friday, March 12, 2010; Ranchers across the west are being offered millions of dollars in aid from the federal government to make their operations more environmentally sustainable and reduce their impact on the sage grouse the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today.
NV Energy to get $136 million in grants to create smart grid: Friday, March 12, 2010; NV Energy will receive $136 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy to help create a Smart Grid in Nevada, the company announced today. The grant comes from a Recovery Act program, which has $301 million in grants available to utilities for smart grid infrastructure.
Plant to bring green-job windfall: Wind turbine manufacturing facility would employ 1,000, boost state’s clean-power resume; Friday, March 12, 2010; Southern Nevada, long in the hunt for a new source of jobs and for companies that can boost the state’s stature in the renewable energy industry, can claim both with Thursday’s announcement that an international manufacturer of wind turbines plans to establish its first American plant here.
Windfall needed to wipe out invasive species: Thursday, March 11, 2010; Everyone agrees that Southern Nevada needs to get rid of the quagga mussels that threaten to ruin Lake Mead, the foreign grasses that fuel wildfires and salt cedars that steal precious water and choke out native wetland vegetation.
Ensign votes against bill even though it included his amendment to help Nevada: Wednesday, March 10, 2010; Sen. John Ensign today voted against a bill that included a key amendment to return geothermal energy royalties and lease revenue to the rural counties where the geothermal plants are located.
Mesquite power plant will use natural gas instead of coal: Tuesday, March 9, 2010; Mesquite Mayor Susan Holecheck is announcing tonight that the power plant planned for her city will be fueled with natural gas instead of coal.
Senate amends bill to restore geothermal money to counties: Tuesday, March 9, 2010; The U.S. Senate today approved an amendment to the Department of Interior's appropriations bill that reallocates a portion of royalties and lease payments to counties with geothermal plants on federal land.
Harry Reid, John Ensign work to reclaim rurals’ geothermal revenue: Tuesday, March 9, 2010; Nevada’s congressional delegation is scrambling to try to reverse a 5-month-old change in federal appropriations that is costing some of the state’s rural counties hundreds of thousands of dollars each month.
PUC staff seeking maximum fine against Western States Contracting: Monday, March 8, 2010; The staff of the Nevada Public Utilities Commission is asking the commission to levy the maximum fine against a Las Vegas contractor for damaging underground infrastructure during cable laying projects and for allegedly disregarding state safety laws and regulations.
It’s man vs. bird in quest for power: The sage grouse isn’t endangered right now, but the state’s plans for alternative energy may change that; Saturday, March 6, 2010; The future of Nevada is tied to the future of the sage grouse because the bird lives in a lot of the same areas that are expected to be used for wind, solar and geothermal energy. And although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided not to add the bird to the endangered species list Friday, it acknowledges that federal protection is warranted.
Feds reject listing sage grouse as endangered species: Friday, March 5, 2010; The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced the greater sage grouse warrants listing on the endangered species list, but that listing will not be forthcoming due to the need to first try to protect higher priority species.
Harry Reid legislation would let Nevada reject California's trash: Thursday, March 4, 2010; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today announced he will introduce legislation that would allow state and local governments to refuse waste shipments from other states.
Feds begin distributing money for conservation programs: Wednesday, March 3, 2010; The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has begun distributing funds for programs to support hunting, sport-fishing and wildlife conservation programs across the country, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today.
Experts to discuss the future of nuclear ene: Wednesday, March 3, 2010; UNLV's Institute for Security Studies is hosting a panel discussion on the future of nuclear energy in the United States Thursday night at the Atomic Testing Museum. Admission is free.
Energy Department withdraws application for Yucca Mountain: Wednesday, March 3, 2010; The U.S. Department of Energy today filed an application to withdraw its application for a license to build Yucca Mountain.
Ownership of local solar manufacturing plant changes hands: Tuesday, March 2, 2010; Solar Power manufacturer Ausra has been bought-out by solar developer Areva, the companies announced this morning.
Expert: Climate change effort will take centuries: Tuesday, March 2, 2010; Adele Morris is a fellow and policy director at the Brookings Institution, which, in partnership with UNLV, runs the Brookings Mountain West think tank.
Chamber offering free workshops on how to start a business: Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010; The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and SCORE are launching a series of free workshops on how to start a business.
Coal-ﬁred plant may be out of steam before it’s up: Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010; A controversial coal-fired power plant was supposed to be under construction near Mesquite by now. Sithe Global Power planned to have the Toquop Energy Project generating relatively cheap electricity by 2013 so it could sell the power wholesale to Nevada and other Southwest states.
Nevada hydrologist appointed to a national panel on water research: Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010; A Nevada hydrologist has been appointed to a select National Academy of Sciences panel on water research and hydrology funding, the Academy announced today.
National parks and recreation areas no longer gun-free zones: Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010; It is now legal to carry firearms into national parks and recreation areas, including Lake Mead National Recreation Area, but the right to bear arms in parks is not without its limits.
BrightSource is first solar developer to get a federal loan guarantee: Monday, Feb. 22, 2010; A California-based company that is developing solar plants in and near Southern Nevada will be the first solar developer in the nation to get a federally backed loan guarantee, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today.
Environmentalists score Nevada's congressional delegation: Monday, Feb. 22, 2010; The environmental records of Nevada politicians divide sharply along party lines, a report released today by the Nevada Conservation League and parent organization League of Conservations Voters notes.
Delays in protecting species spur lawsuits: Friday, Feb. 19, 2010; The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was sued Thursday for allegedly dragging its feet on whether to put 93 species, including dozens in Nevada, on the Endangered Species list.
Solar plant in Boulder City gets $2.9 million grant: Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010; The Spanish company that is expanding its Boulder City solar plant got a boost from the U.S. government recently when the Energy Department awarded it a $2.9 million grant, the Obama Administration announced tonight.
Water discussion set for Boulder City: Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010; The Desert Research Institute is hosting a panel discussion on water in Southern Nevada Feb. 26 in Boulder City.
The event is meant to inform the public and spark discussion on the area's water supply and its future.
Northern Nevada rivers expected to be listed as critical habitat for bull trout: Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010; US Fish and Wildlife is planning to add a Northern Nevada watershed to the list of critical habitat for a rare fish.
Would closing state parks to save money do more harm than good?: Cost-cutting move could devastate rural areas, critics say; Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010; The Nevada Legislature is thinking of closing state parks as it considers how to patch an estimated $900 million budget gap, a move that would save a few million dollars while killing the economies of rural towns and stunting tourism efforts across the state, opponents of the idea say.
NV Energy to buy power from solar array near Primm: Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010; NV Energy will purchase power from a solar photovoltaic array planned near Primm, the developer, NexLight, announced today.
Calif. county objects to big solar project near Primm: Friday, Feb. 12, 2010; Hundreds of out-of-work Las Vegas construction workers have been waiting for a chance to start building a giant solar plant in California, just southwest of Primm, but San Bernardino County officials’ objections are putting those jobs on hold if not jeopardizing them entirely.
NV Energy plans renewable energy purchase from geothermal plant: Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010; NV Energy will purchase 32 megawatts of renewable energy from a planned Central Nevada geothermal plant, the utility announced this week. NV Energy signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Clayton Power 1, a subsidiary of Ram Power Corporation.
Red Rock Canyon fee increases up for discussion: Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010; Have your say next week on fee increases planned for Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area .
Feds seek withdrawal of Yucca Mountain water applications: Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010; The Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository got another nail in its coffin today, as the Energy Department formally asked to withdraw its applications for access to water in the area surrounding Yucca Mountain.
NV Energy plans to buy power from wind farm: Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010; NV Energy will purchase electricity from a wind farm proposed for eastern Nevada, the company announced today.
What’s next for Yucca? Restoration: Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010; When it was on the drawing boards, the Yucca Mountain radioactive waste dump promised unprecedented challenges to nuclear engineers and physicists: How to safely store nuclear waste underground?
Yucca Mountain’s death just a few steps away: Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010; The long and tortured effort to build a national burial ground at Yucca Mountain for highly radioactive waste will be halted once and for all, the Obama administration promised Monday, saying it would withdraw the application to build the project and starve it of funds.
Preserving the bird that lives in trees that siphon precious water: Monday, Feb. 1, 2010; Sometimes in nature, the simplest solutions lead to the most convoluted results.
Take the saltcedar tree, one of the greatest scourges of the West; it chokes out native plants, sucks up water like a sponge and ruins recreation spots.
Pipeline not the sole option: Authority exploring other means as predictions for Lake Mead remain grim; Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010; The Nevada Supreme Court’s ruling last week that upheaved multibillion-dollar plans to tap water from rural Nevada for the Las Vegas Valley has thrown into confusion the fate of a project that was once hailed as essential to the future of Las Vegas.
Nevada Supreme Court tosses Las Vegas claims to rural water: Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010; The Supreme Court of Nevada today smacked down the Southern Nevada Water Authority's claim to tens of thousands of acre feet of water in rural Nevada.
Panel explores eventual fate of Yucca Mountain records: Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010; A three-judge panel in charge of hearing disagreements associated with the U.S. Department of Energy’s proposed Yucca Mountain Waste Repository is trying to figure out how to dress a turkey before it’s dead.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Construction Authorization Board held a hearing Wednesday to explore what would happen to all the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump records should Congress yank the funding for the controversial dump.
Nevada to challenge California's geothermal energy supremacy: Monday, Jan. 25, 2010; In a report released today, the Geothermal Energy Association reported that the Golden State far outstrips any other in terms of geothermal energy output, but for new plants, developers are looking to Nevada.
Cox allowing valley customers to make free calls to Haiti: Monday, Jan. 25, 2010; The telecommunication company said it would waive long distance charges to the earthquake-ravaged country between Jan. 12 and Feb. 28.