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Land Resources / Management / Land
Renewable energy efforts gather momentum
Source: In Business Las Vegas, by Stephanie Tavares
January 04, 2008 Energy development is the key issue for Nevada utilities in 2008. The battle lines are already drawn and 2008 will likely see a showdown between renewable energy advocates and defenders of the use of fossil fuels. Thus far, the renewable energy advocates appear to have the upper hand. Two major solar energy developments will be at full capacity throughout 2008 and the world's largest solar thermal manufacturing plant will soon be up and running in Las Vegas. Planning will be completed in 2008 for an enormous wind farm on the Idaho border and geothermal energy sites located on land recently leased from the Bureau of Land Management in 2006 and 2007 will soon be productive. Controversial coal-fired power plants in White Pine County continue to face serious opposition from environmentalists, conservationists, grass-roots groups and renewable energy advocates across the West. Three "clean" coal-fired power plants have been proposed for the area but are being fought by opponents such as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Sierra Pacific Resources' Ely Energy Center has been postponed because of a backlog of needed environmental reviews by the BLM, which has jurisdiction over the land on which the plant and a giant transmission line would be built. The power company, foreseeing a need for the power the plant would provide, has moved forward with plans for a natural-gas fired plant in Southern Nevada. More than 70 percent of Southern Nevada's electricity comes from natural gas, making the area particularly susceptible to price fluctuations. Renewable energy advocates are making great strides and big promises in a bid to make their preferred technology cheaper than fossil fuels and more practical for consumers. Google.org, the philanthropic wing of Internet search giant Google.com, announced plans to spend tens of millions of dollars in grants and investment in renewable energy development. It has vowed to bring the price of renewable energy lower than the price of burning coal for power. Ausra, a California-based solar thermal developer, is leasing a giant manufacturing plant in Las Vegas. The plant will use auto-industry robotic assembly lines to build solar thermal arrays capable of generating 700 megawatts a year. It will triple the worldwide manufacturing capacity of the technology and expects its arrays to be immediately cheaper than natural gas-fired plants and to someday be cheaper than coal plants. The company plans to build its arrays throughout the Southwest. Nevada Solar One, the giant solar thermal array in Boulder City, has plans to increase energy storage capacity so that power generated during the day can be used into the evening hours or be saved for peak summer hours. Another, smaller, solar thermal array has been proposed for the same area. The solar photovoltaic array at Nellis Air Force Base was completed last month and will provide about 40 percent of the base's electricity needs in 2008, taking pressure off the grid. It will also help the Air Force move toward its goal of lessening its dependence on nonrenewable power sources. The Nellis array uses a unique tower system that can be placed on top of sensitive ground like capped waste-disposal dumps without disturbing the soil beneath. It could be a model for other small-scale electricity users such as residential or commercial developments or rural mines. Local energy providers will continue to push forward with plans for the coal plants. Energy experts say they have little choice. Southern Nevada's growth means the area will need an increase in electricity capacity of up to 30 percent in the next five years. Renewable energy experts say that current technologies such as solar and wind energy cannot provide a stable-enough power source 24 hours a day to meet the expected increased needs for Southern Nevada. Solar photovoltaic can only generate electricity when the sun is shining, solar thermal arrays have limited storage capacity and wind in this state is sporadic. Geothermal energy can be used 24/7, but the geothermal fields are in the wrong part of the state and there is no transmission line to connect Southern Nevada to geothermal power sources in the north. Many believe the coal plants are inevitable, no matter how unpopular. The state is dependent on natural gas, the price of which is already highly unstable and may get even more so as Canadian natural gas fields that provide power to Northern Nevada, the Northwest and Canada face increased demand as the supply plateaus. Southern Nevada gets its natural gas from sources in the West, however the Canadian situation could affect natural gas prices across the continent.
The legal community over the next year will likely see more of what we saw in 2007, with more regional and national firms entering the fray and competition among top firms increasing. The year will likely see a continued debate on judicial selection reform, especially as merit-based selection proponents' poster child, District Judge Elizabeth Halverson, faces an anticipated dismissal hearing by the Judicial Discipline Commission. Also new in 2008 will be a road test of the new legal advertising rules and policies that went into effect in September. Advertising by law firms is expected to increase in 2008, along with the pace of competition among law firms in general. And as new phone books come out the State Bar will get a better picture of how their new system is working and whether Nevada law firms are complying. It will also likely mean a test in court brought on by opponents of the rules such as attorney Glen Lerner, who has vowed to ignore them. Lerner has said any regulation of advertisements amounts to restrictions on his First Amendment freedom of expression. 2008 will also see new UNLV Boyd Law School Dean John V. White come out of the shadow of founding Dean Richard Morgan. With the new academic year, White is expected to begin exerting his influence on school affairs, from new hires to expanding programs. It will also be a test of how well he can inspire donors and alumni to increase support of the nationally ranked law school amid statewide budget cuts. Read the complete article from In Business Las Vegas » |
