Alternative Energy – Great Beat, But Will We Ever Dance To It
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
For those of the era of American Bandstand you will recall the rate a new record portion of the program where the song would play and young people would give their opinion, often sharing the observation that a song would have a great beat…but you couldn’t really dance to it. Does the same apply to Nevada’s future being in alternative energy development?
Jon Ralston’s recent column in the Las Vegas Sun drew attention to the hyperbole over how Nevada’s future is linked with green energy, but the actions of agencies like the Nevada Public Utilities Commission cause us to wonder whether getting there will ever be accomplished. His points were well made, both from the standpoint of how overblown the hype is over Nevada’s future prosperity in the alternative energy field…and the reality of the mad rush to implement a higher-priced energy system.
Some would have you believe that since the sun shines for free or the wind blows without costs – alternative energy is free for the taking. Actually, both of these sources for electrical energy aren’t in the ballpark when it comes to costs comparisons to the way we get power now (natural gas, coal, etc.) There’s also the matter of getting the power from where it is harnessed to the light switch that pays the bill when it is flipped.
One of Nevada’s more costs-effective energy sources, geothermal, does compete in the price comparison, but still requires the electrical power lines to connect to the grid. It is also limited to requiring the power generation site to be where the natural hot water sources are located.
In some respects wind power is also restricted to wind-prone areas (not just frequently windy, but actually the type of steady wind that makes electrical power generation more efficient than it is in a once-in-a-while quality wind).
These limitations for locating generation facilities come with their own challenges – not widely discussed when it comes to the promises of how alternative energy will result in economic boons for Nevada. Due to Nevada’s 80-plus percent federal lands make-up, doing what it takes to develop energy sites involves fairly complicated approvals. Those approvals aren’t easy to get in the first place and the desires to protect Sage Grouse from becoming a higher listed species on the Endangered Species Act list is making it even more unlikely that the lights will be going green for progress.
Behind the scenes activities are raising the bar to make it more difficult to get federal agencies to sign off on approval for not only the generation facilities, but also the power lines that carry the electricity to markets. Power lines are also deemed problematic for Sage Grouse survival, primarily because of the way they provide a platform for damaging predatory birds like Ravens.
As we continue to hear about the promise of how green energy is going to serve as a foundation for Nevada’s job market and become a significant engine for our economy, it would be worth having some honest dialogue on what it’s actually going to take to deliver on the promise and what the consequences will be (higher still energy prices) if we ever get where we’re supposed to be drooling over getting to.
For those of the era of American Bandstand you will recall the rate a new record portion of the program where the song would play and young people would give their opinion, often sharing the observation that a song would have a great beat…but you couldn’t really dance to it. Does the same apply to Nevada’s future being in alternative energy development?
Jon Ralston’s recent column in the Las Vegas Sun drew attention to the hyperbole over how Nevada’s future is linked with green energy, but the actions of agencies like the Nevada Public Utilities Commission cause us to wonder whether getting there will ever be accomplished. His points were well made, both from the standpoint of how overblown the hype is over Nevada’s future prosperity in the alternative energy field…and the reality of the mad rush to implement a higher-priced energy system.
Some would have you believe that since the sun shines for free or the wind blows without costs – alternative energy is free for the taking. Actually, both of these sources for electrical energy aren’t in the ballpark when it comes to costs comparisons to the way we get power now (natural gas, coal, etc.) There’s also the matter of getting the power from where it is harnessed to the light switch that pays the bill when it is flipped.
One of Nevada’s more costs-effective energy sources, geothermal, does compete in the price comparison, but still requires the electrical power lines to connect to the grid. It is also limited to requiring the power generation site to be where the natural hot water sources are located.
In some respects wind power is also restricted to wind-prone areas (not just frequently windy, but actually the type of steady wind that makes electrical power generation more efficient than it is in a once-in-a-while quality wind).
These limitations for locating generation facilities come with their own challenges – not widely discussed when it comes to the promises of how alternative energy will result in economic boons for Nevada. Due to Nevada’s 80-plus percent federal lands make-up, doing what it takes to develop energy sites involves fairly complicated approvals. Those approvals aren’t easy to get in the first place and the desires to protect Sage Grouse from becoming a higher listed species on the Endangered Species Act list is making it even more unlikely that the lights will be going green for progress.
Behind the scenes activities are raising the bar to make it more difficult to get federal agencies to sign off on approval for not only the generation facilities, but also the power lines that carry the electricity to markets. Power lines are also deemed problematic for Sage Grouse survival, primarily because of the way they provide a platform for damaging predatory birds like Ravens.
As we continue to hear about the promise of how green energy is going to serve as a foundation for Nevada’s job market and become a significant engine for our economy, it would be worth having some honest dialogue on what it’s actually going to take to deliver on the promise and what the consequences will be (higher still energy prices) if we ever get where we’re supposed to be drooling over getting to.
Posted by Doug Busselman at 7/25/2011 7:56 AM 
Categories: Alternative Energy
Tags: Nevada Nevada Alternative Energy Alternative Energy Development
Categories: Alternative Energy
Tags: Nevada Nevada Alternative Energy Alternative Energy Development
Comments