April 28, 2011

Washington, D.C. - Shortly after returning from China, Nevada Senator Reid expressed his confidence in Nevada’s leadership in the clean energy sector and the United States’ ability to compete with China. During his trip Reid met with several Chinese companies that are weighing serious investment in Nevada’s clean energy sector.  China already recognizes Nevada’s potential and ability to lead in this sector—just last year, Chinese company A-Power agreed to invest in a project that will create jobs in Nevada.

“China isn't investing so heavily in clean energy just because it's good for the environment – it’s doing so because it's also good for the economy,” said Reid. “As we work to make the United States a global leader in clean energy, Nevada should and will play a major role. Our state has abundant resources of wind, sun and geothermal that make it a natural choice for international investment.”

Several news outlets emphasized Nevada’s role in increasing the United States’ energy independence and security and the need to increase U.S. competitiveness with China. 

Daily Sparks Tribune- Reid expects Chinese investment in Nev. clean energy market
By Joshua H. Silavent

WASHINGTON — Sen. Harry Reid announced on Wednesday that two major Chinese energy firms are considering investments in Nevada and that an official announcement and further details might be coming soon.

During a conference call with reporters, Reid described his recent visit to China, a country that produces about 75 percent of its power with coal but that is rapidly moving toward clean, renewable energy replacements.

The trip was Reid’s first to the world’s most populous country in more than 25 years, and the senate majority leader came away with the impression that China would soon be leading the world in solar, wind and other clean-energy production.

“It was an unmistakable reminder of how hard we have to work to make America competitive with the rest of the world,” the Democrat said.

Given its vast resources and know-how, the United States should outpace China in production in the coming years, Reid said. Doing so is important for America’s economy and national security, but lawmakers in Washington must have the political will to make the long-term investment, he added.

With an abundance of wind, solar and geothermal resources, the Silver State is primed to take advantage of such investments.

“Nevada should and will play a major role,” Reid said.

President Barack Obama, during his visit to Reno last week, touted Nevada’s place in the burgeoning renewable energy industry.

“Instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy sources, let’s invest in tomorrow’s,” he said at a town hall rally at ElectraTherm, a Reno-based green energy firm that produces emissions-free power by capturing waste heat.

In a letter to leading congressional Democrats and Republicans a few days later, Obama laid out his position more clearly.

“I am writing to urge you to take immediate action to eliminate unwarranted tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, and to use those dollars to invest in clean energy to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” he wrote.

According to government reports, oil companies receive more than $4 billion annually in tax breaks, making it one of the most heavily subsidized industries.

Proponents argue that the subsidies help support more than 9 million jobs against market fluctuations, according to a New York Times article on the subject published last year.

With the president’s words in play, some Democrats in Washington now are looking to take action.

Reid said on Wednesday that he supported the president’s proposal to strip top oil companies, including BP and Exxon Mobil, of government incentives given the record profits each has made in recent years despite the economic recession.

Reid said this approach is part of a larger, more comprehensive energy strategy.

“There’s no need for these subsidies,” he added.

Associated Press- Reid: US must compete with China to lead on energy

The United States must step up its efforts on renewable energy to compete with China and other countries for global leadership, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday after returning from a nine-day, taxpayer-funded trip to Asia with nine of his colleagues.

The Nevada Democrat said the trip, his first visit to China in a quarter-century, offered "an unmistakable reminder just how hard we have to work to make America competitive with the rest of the world," particularly on manufacturing and energy.

Reid said he used to be proud that he could see dozens of construction cranes in Las Vegas and other fast-growing areas in Nevada, but said that in China, "they have 26 cranes in one block. And they have block after block of cranes."

Reid led a bipartisan delegation of 10 senators on a trip that included meetings with top Chinese government officials and business leaders. The delegation of seven Democrats and three Republicans met with Vice President Xi Jinping, widely touted as China's next leader, as well as China's foreign minister, vice premier and central bank president.

The group also toured renewable energy plants in Chengdu, a city of 14 million seen as a leader in that field, and stopped in Macau, a former Portuguese colony where Las Vegas gaming giants operate major resorts.

In a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Reid said he was impressed with China's aggressive investments in renewable energy. China's actions compel the United States to keep pace, he said.

China, which is notoriously polluted and heavily dependent on fossil fuels such as coal and oil, is investing in clean energy not just because it's good for the environment, but because it's good for its economy, Reid said.

"China knows that clean energy creates jobs and, in reducing its reliance on oil, makes it more secure," he said.

With its vast renewable energy resources, the United States "can't afford not to be a globally competitive leader in this important area," Reid said.

Reid said he met with leaders of several Chinese companies, including A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd., which is working with several U.S. partners to build a wind turbine manufacturing plant in the Las Vegas area that could employ about 1,000 people. The plant would be one of the largest manufacturing employers in southern Nevada.

Reid said the trip's "primary focus" was to strengthen America's manufacturing sectors and urge a level playing field for U.S. businesses in China.

The delegation included Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Chuck Schumer of New York, Barbara Boxer of California, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Michael Bennet of Colorado, and Republican Sens. Richard Shelby of Alabama, Johnny Isakson of Georgia and Mike Enzi of Wyoming.

Reid's office said no cost estimate was available for the trip, which ran April 16-25 and included several Reid staffers, two U.S. Army escorts and a security detail. Jon Summers, a spokesman for Reid who went on the trip, said spouses also traveled with the delegation but paid for additional expenses in accordance with Senate rules.

Las Vegas Review Journal- Fresh from China trip, Reid hints at news involving renewable energy ventures
By Steve Tetreualt

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid hinted on Wednesday that deals are close to being completed for further Chinese investments in Nevada renewable energy ventures.
Reid, D-Nev., declined to discuss details, other than mentioning that NV Energy was involved in the talks. He said was asked to remain silent as negotiations continue for land and other components.

But he said that while on a Senate trip to China last week he met with two "major possible investments in Nevada that are very, very favorable. One of them would be the biggest we've had, period."

"We will wait and see if this works out," Reid said. "I feel pretty good about the fact that they were going to have something happen fairly soon."

Reid, the Senate majority leader, returned Monday from leading a 10-senator delegation on a weeklong trip to China.

The group had a broad agenda that included discussions with Chinese officials on human rights, trade, Chinese currency management, international security and high speed rail.

The trip also provided Reid with the opportunity to further relationships with leaders of Chinese companies that he said have expressed interest in Nevada's sun and wind resources.

Among the stops, Reid said he met with leaders of A-Power Energy Generation Systems Inc., which announced last fall it planned to be a partner in a wind turbine manufacturing plant in Southern Nevada.

Reid said the trip "was an unmistakable reminder just how hard we have to work to make America more competitive with the rest of the world."

"I hadn't been to China in 25 years," Reid said. "The change in that country in the last quarter of a century is remarkable, and that is an understatement."

Reid said he used to be proud that the CityCenter project on the Strip counted 26 construction cranes as a measure of robust activity.

"In China, they have 26 cranes in one block, and they have block after block of construction they are doing on these high-rise buildings," he said.

Politico- Harry Reid: Don’t let China beat us
By Bob King

Don't let China win the future on clean energy, Harry Reid said after his return this week from a nine-day trip to the rising Asian power.

The Senate majority leader, who took the taxpayer-funded delegation to Asia with nine other lawmakers, said the journey served as "an unmistakable reminder just how hard we have to work to make America competitive with the rest of the world," particularly on manufacturing and energy, according to The Associated Press.

Reid said he used to be proud that he could see dozens of construction cranes in Las Vegas and other fast-growing areas in Nevada. But now, he said, in China "they have 26 cranes in one block. And they have block after block of cranes," the AP reported following a conference call with the senator Wednesday.

In a statement Tuesday, Reid had said that “China isn't investing so heavily in clean energy just because it's good for the environment — it’s doing so because it's good for the economy. China knows clean energy creates jobs and, in reducing its reliance on oil, makes it more secure.”

The delegation of seven Democrats and three Republicans met with Vice President Xi Jinping, widely touted as China's next leader, as well as China's foreign minister, vice premier and central bank president. The group also toured renewable energy plants in Chengdu, a city of 14 million seen as a leader in that field, Reid's office said.
Reid said he met with leaders of several Chinese companies, including A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd., which is working with several U.S. partners to build a wind turbine manufacturing plant in the Las Vegas area that could employ about 1,000 people, the AP said.
Reid hinted on Wednesday that deals are close to being completed for further Chinese investments in Nevada renewable energy ventures.

Reid declined to discuss details, other than mentioning that NV Energy was involved in the talks. He said he was asked to remain silent as negotiations continue for land and other components.
But he said that on his China trip he met with two "major possible investments in Nevada that are very, very favorable. One of them would be the biggest we've had, period," according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal

The delegation included Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Chuck Schumer of New York, Barbara Boxer of California, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Michael Bennet of Colorado, and Republican Sens. Richard Shelby of Alabama, Johnny Isakson of Georgia and Mike Enzi of Wyoming. The senators returned home Monday night.

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