Summit to bring national leaders to Nevada in August

July 1, 2008

Las Vegas – Nevada Senator Harry Reid, UNLV President David Ashley and the Center for American Progress Action Fund today announced their partnership in hosting the National Clean Energy Summit, to be held at UNLV on Tuesday, August 19. The announcement took place at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas.

This summit will bring together major industry leaders, scientists, policy experts, citizens and the media from across the country to participate in a dialog about our nation’s clean energy future. Senator Reid believes Nevada can be the world leader in the renewable energy industry, drawing upon its vast solar, wind and geothermal resources to provide clean, stable power while creating thousands of jobs for our state’s economy.
 
“Being the world leader is more than leading by example by tapping into our state's vast renewable resources,” Reid said. “It also means leading the national discussion. I am hopeful that this event will result in some consensus ideas and principles that participants can carry to the parties’ political conventions and on into the next Administration. As the Majority Leader, clean energy -- and Nevada’s central role in this revolution -- will be a top legislative priority of mine for the next Congress.”

“This is really important for us to be able to demonstrate why southern Nevada is in a leadership position in this area,” Ashley said. “We're delighted that this is an opportunity for us to showcase the talents of so many of our students and faculty.”

Notable speakers at the conference will include President Bill Clinton, Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona, Governor Bill Ritter of Colorado, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and businessman T. Boone Pickens, who is committing to build the largest wind farm in America.