Highlights Federal and State Actions Critical to a Clean Energy Economy

March 16, 2012

Senator Reid has released a new report entitled “Playing to Win in Clean Energy.” The report details how Nevada’s renewable energy economy has been aided by federal legislation focused on spurring investment in clean energy and the reform of policies that have accelerated clean energy projects on federal lands. The report also illustrates the significant roles federal policies are playing in the commercial deployment of Nevada’s clean energy resources and future steps that would most effectively drive immediate investment in Nevada’s clean energy future.  The report can be accessed at http://reid.senate.gov/cleanenergy.

“There are more renewable energy projects under construction today than at any other time in Nevada’s history.  That’s a major accomplishment,” said Reid. “The clean energy projects underway in Nevada did not happen by accident and they did not happen overnight and we must continue to ensure that Nevada real¬izes its clean energy potential. This means fostering more private-public partnerships and improving government and private sector coordination and not eliminating critical job-creating tax credits.”

"Critical clean energy policies set at the state and federal levels have acted as catalysts for private development in Nevada,” said Lydia Ball, Executive Director of the Clean Energy Project. “Investing in Nevada's clean energy infrastructure is an investment in our economy, and several clean energy projects under construction demonstrate how public-private partnerships bring jobs and economic growth to Nevada. An aggressive clean energy path for Nevada will make us the heartbeat of clean energy innovation in the region, reduce pollution, and prepare us to compete in the 21st century."

The projects highlighted in the report are predicted to create more than 2,200 jobs and add more than $1 billion to Nevada’s economy. The case studies and timeline presented demonstrate the critical role that important federal actions and state policies have played in the development of Nevada’s clean energy economy which helped make that economic growth possible.

The State of Clean Energy in Nevada

Nevada is leading the way towards a clean energy economy and gaining significant dividends which include, but are not limited to:

• Clean energy job growth measured annually at 5.8 percent between 2003 to 2010
• Clean energy jobs that pay $8,000 more than the median wage for other jobs in Nevada
• Nevada’s Top 5 national ranking for installed solar photovoltaic, concentrating solar, and geothermal nameplate capacity
• The total estimated financial benefit of $1.04 billion to Nevada’s economy from the six projects featured in the report.

In addition, the state of clean energy in Nevada shows promise for significant amounts of future growth because:

• Nevada is ranked 1st nationally in the number of geothermal projects under development.
• Nevada is ranked 3rd nationally for utilityscale solar photovoltaic capacity and projects under development.
• Nevada’s wind energy resources could provide nearly 60 percent of the state’s current electricity needs.
• The Bureau of Land Management recently designated more than 1,100 megawatts of renewable energy projects in Nevada as priority projects in 2012.
• Clean energy jobs in Nevada are currently projected to increase by nearly 11 percent between 2011 and 2016.

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