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Rmoen

This editorial fails to mention the high costs of renewables. The newly announced Blythe solar plant will cost $6 billion dollars to construct, yet like Solar One in Boulder City will produce electricity at only 15% if its maximum 1,000 megawatt capacity. Fortunately, it's power output more-or-less matches high summer electricity demands. But because it's output is intermittent, on cloudy days for example, it will still need to be backed-up by another type of generation, such as natural gas.

For comparison purposes, consider that NV Energy just built a 500 megawatt natural gas generation plant in Northern Nevada for $1/2 billion. Yes, it requires fuel whereas solar does not, but natural gas emits only half the CO2 of coal generation and does not require back-up. And, by the way, America is swimming in newly discovered natural gas so prices are dropping dramatically.

I expect Californians will see electricity costs increase dramatically due to Prop 23.

-- Robert Moen, http://www.energyplanUSA.com

Let's quit the name-calling. Can we all agree that the United States should convene its own objective, transparent Climate Truth Commission and stop outsourcing our climate science to the United Nations? It defies common sense that we outsource our climate science to the UN then allow it to serve as both judge (IPCC) and advocate (Kyoto Protocol, Copenhagen).

-- Robert Moen, www.energyplanUSA.com

davely-
I think you've got it right. But a nuclear plant at Lake Tahoe will never fly. Perhaps the Paiutes would be forward thinking enough to put it on Pyramid Lake, possibly Stampede Reservoir near Reno or the Humbolt River.

-- Robert Moen, www.energyplanUSA

Oops, I dropped a zero in the above post. It should read, "A single nuclear power plant equates to about 1000-2000 large wind turbines, if we assume the wind blows 24-hours a day. ...but of course it doesn't."

-- Robert Moen, www.energyplanUSA.com

A single nuclear power plant equates to about 20-40 Nevada Solar Ones (near Boulder City), if we assume the sun shines 24-hours a day. ...but of course it doesn't.

A single nuclear power plant equates to about 100-200 large wind turbines, if we assume the wind blows 24-hours a day. ...but of course it doesn't.

While water is a barrier to nuclear reactors, it is instructive to note that the Palo Verde Power Plant near Phoenix, currently the largest in the United States, is not located adjacent to a large body of water. Instead, it evaporates water from the treated sewage of several nearby municipalities to meet its cooling needs.

As a Nevada resident I do not want to see hundreds of wind mills, dozens of solar facilities and hundreds of miles of transmission lines mucking-up our state. We in Nevada would be crazy short-sighted to turn our backs on the possibility of powering the state with nuclear power.

-- Robert Moen, www.energyplanUSA.com