Energy and water bill passed by Senate funds key projects across Nevada

July 29, 2009

Washington, D.C. – In leading the U.S. Senate toward passage of the 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, Nevada Senator Harry Reid was successful in cutting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s license application funding for the Yucca Mountain Project from the President’s requested $56 million to $29 million.  The Senate-passed bill follows the President’s budget level of $196.8 million to terminate Yucca and fund the Secretary of Energy’s Blue Ribbon Commission to develop alternative nuclear waste management solutions.

“The Senate’s vote today affirms the President’s budget to terminate Yucca Mountain and to begin working on more responsible alternative solutions for nuclear waste,” Reid said.  “I’ll continue my work with the Administration and our congressional delegation to prevent Nevada from ever again being considered as the nation’s nuclear dumping ground.”
 
In addition to his efforts to kill Yucca Mountain, Reid secured more than $57 million for Nevada energy and water projects ranging from renewable energy planning, infrastructure and development to water reclamation and flood control projects.

“This funding will help address many of Nevada’s infrastructure needs while creating jobs and further positioning our state to be the leader in clean renewable energy.”

Details of the funding Reid secured are below.

Energy Projects

Project: Nevada Renewable Energy Integration and Development Consortium
Location: Washoe County, Clark County, and other Nevada counties
Amount: $3,000,000
Summary:  The Consortium is an association of DRI, UNLV, UNR, and community colleges.  Funding will be used for collaboration with business and industry on research, development, demonstration, deployment, commercialization, education and training related to renewable energy technologies. Nevada has some of the nation's best solar and geothermal energy resources in the United States and the Consortium is well positioned to develop and commercialize technologies to tap these resources, which will benefit the entire region economically and work towards the President's clean energy priorities.

Project: Development of Biofuels Using Ionic Transfer Membranes
Location: Las Vegas
Amount:  $1,500,000
Summary:  Funds will be used to research an electrochemical process to produce a lower-cost biofuel with no hazardous contaminants and reduced waste steam.  This scalable project will reduce the cost of biodiesel manufacturing processes and allow for on-site production of the catalyst, reducing transportation costs, avoiding shelf-life costs, and reducing safety hazards.

Project: UNR- Biodiesel from Food Waste
Location: Reno
Amount: $1,000,000
Summary:  Funding will advance UNR's work on an alternative bio-diesel fuel from food and beverage waste. It is estimated that this process could potentially add 340 million gallons of bio-diesel to the world’s fuel supply and UNR is working with local companies to develop a pilot plant using this technology. This project fulfills DOE's high priority of advancing alternative transportation fuels research, especially biodiesel, and developing new feedstock for such fuels.

Project: Solar energy zone planning and infrastructure
Location: Nye County
Amount: $1,000,000
Summary:  Funds will be used to identify, secure necessary permits and/or rights of way, and install infrastructure to support a solar energy zone with adequate resources to support at least 1,000 MW of electricity from either solar PV or solar thermal facilities. Demonstrating a new process by which the Federal government can work with solar energy developers to site and permit solar energy projects on Federal lands will help facilitate the development of many large clean renewable energy projects.

Project: Washoe Wind Turbine Demonstration Project
Location: Gardnerville
Amount: $50,000
Summary:  Funds will be used to install 6 wind turbines with a capacity of 18 kW for a demonstration project. The turbines would be located at two HeadStart educational buildings, two community centers, a gas station and the Washoe agricultural ranch. The project will help the Tribe become less dependent on other Federal funds and serve as a model project for how clean renewable energy can be incorporated with tribal economies.

Project: Great Basin College- Direct-Use Geothermal Demonstration Project
Location: Elko
Amount: $1,000,000
Summary:  This research initiative will enhance the existing geothermal "users group loop", which provides geothermal energy to a number of public facilities.  An expanded system will provide a learning laboratory for students at Great Basin College's Career and Technical Education Programs. The project will increase the production of clean geothermal energy, and serve as the anchor of a training program for green jobs.  Northern Nevada has tremendous renewable energy supplies that this program will help create capacity to develop in the near future.

Project: Renewable Energy Initiatives for Clark County, Nevada Parks and Recreation
Location: Las Vegas
Amount: $1,000,000
Summary:  Funds will be used to provide solar energy facilities for parks, including the Nellis Dunes ORV Recreation Park. The project will provide clean solar energy - an abundant resource in southern Nevada - for a public recreational facility open to residents and tourists.

Project: Fallon Paiute- Shoshone Tribe Demonstration Energy Park
Location: Fallon
Amount: $200,000
Summary:  Requested funding will provide support for a feasibility study of the solar resources available on the Tribe's land and planning for a demonstration project for a commercial scale solar project. This is a first of a kind project for the Native American community and will stimulate cooperation with Tribes on clean energy development on Tribal lands.  This approach could be replicated with other Tribes.

Project: Alternative Energy School of the Future
Location: Las Vegas
Amount: $1,200,000
Summary:  Funding would complete installation of a solar photovoltaic (PV) powered regenerative fuel cell system to provide energy to the school and teach students about alternative energy. Nevada has some of the nation's best solar energy resources, and educating students about renewable energy and its value, while also saving school costs with clean renewable power achieves multiple policy objectives at once.

Project: UNR- Mass Exchanger Technology for Geothermal and Solar Energy Systems
Location: Reno
Amount: $1,200,000
Summary:  This project would develop a heat exchange process designed to dramatically improve heat/mass exchange performance via boiling/condensation, solar, and water treatment.  This research could lead to breakthroughs that allow energy utilities to harness the power of renewable energy.

Project: NIREC- Nevada Institute for Renewable Energy Commercialization- Facility
Location: Reno
Amount: $1,000,000
Summary:  Funding will be used to commercialize research projects and accelerate renewable energy solutions into the marketplace. Incubating and accelerating viable renewable energy technologies is a national interest.  Federal funding is a prerequisite to attracting private sector funding for subsequent production scaling (bridging the gap between investors and inventors), and will stimulate the creation of a large number of jobs

Project: Development of Ultrafiltration Membrane-Separation Technology for Energy-Efficient Water Treatment and Desalination Process
Location: Las Vegas
Amount: $800,000
Summary:  This project will develop new membrane-separation technology for water treatment and desalination processes using the membrane materials synthesized at the project's lab. This environmentally benign process could potentially benefit dry regions and enhance security by providing a new source of drinking water more efficiently than traditional desalination.

Project: Renewable Energy Feasibility Study and Resources Assessment for White Pine County
Location: White Pine County
Amount: $500,000
Summary:  Funds will be used to develop a feasibility study and renewable energy resource assessment for White Pine County, as well as nurture any planned development of renewable energy resources. White Pine County is home to substantial wind and solar energy resources, but it is sparsely populated with little tax base. This funding will help Nevada and the region develop clean energy resources that will create jobs.

Project: Gas heat pump cooperative training program
Location: Las Vegas
Amount: $250,000
Summary:  This project will establish a technical training program for energy efficient and eco-friendly air-conditioning/refrigeration systems. Funding will help achieve the President's goal of building capacity to create green jobs to deploy energy efficiency technologies quickly.

Project: DRI Renewable Energy Center (REC)
Location: Reno
Amount: $500,000
Summary:  Funding will establish a Renewable Energy Center to coordinate DRI's research, development and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. Nevada has some of the nation's best renewable energy resources, and DRI is well-positioned to perform research and commercialize technologies that will help best use the state's resources for the nation's benefit.

Project: UNR- Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy
Location: Reno
Amount: $1,000,000
Summary:  The Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy is an economic engine for the Great Basin's geothermal industry.  Funding will support competitive research, education, and outreach through the Center. The Center's activities provide a cohesive research and outreach program designed to meet the needs of the growing geothermal industry in the Great Basin.  This capacity is needed to train the next generation of geothermal geoscientists, plant operators, and engineers.

Project: Solar electric power for nonsectarian educational and social services facility
Location: Reno
Amount: $500,000
Summary:  This project will install solar panels on Chabad of Northern Nevada's major service buildings used to provide nonsectarian educational and social services.  Funded through DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program, this project will broaden the deployment of distributed solar power.   Money saved on electricity will be used to provide expanded social services. Chabad provides nonsectarian educational and social services to 140,000 individuals annually.  This project will reduce the load on the grid, and money saved from clean distributed power will be used to provide expanded social services.

Project: Algal-Based Renewable Energy for Nevada
Location: Reno
Amount: $800,000
Summary:  Funding will demonstrate the feasibility of algal-based energy systems in Nevada, using renewable energy to produce biodiesel from algal strains.  Nevada has little conventional biomass resources, but abundant supplies of solar and geothermal resources make the State particularly well suited for growing algae. Developing methods of generating algae-based biofuels from solar, geothermal and other renewable energy will benefit areas with few biomass resources.  Alternative feedstock for clean fuels will provide more options for helping reduce the nation's dependence on oil.

Project: Nevada Water Resources Data, Modeling, and Visualization Center
Location: Reno
Amount: $500,000
Summary:  Funding will equip a data center needed to better understand the current potential future distribution of water resources in Nevada, including use of supercomputer with DRI’s visualization facilities for visualization of water resource scenarios. Water is a critical natural resource that is limited in the southwestern US. This project will provide essential capacity for fully understanding the current distribution of water supplies and predicting future conditions and their impacts due to climate change and increased demand.

Project: Performance Assessment Institute
Location: Las Vegas
Amount: $1,000,000
Summary: Funding will provide support for a partnership with the National Supercomputing Center for Energy and the Environment and Sandia National Labs to improve our nation's performance assessment capabilities by enhancing and extending High Performance computing resources for advanced modeling applications and training.  Performance assessment is a useful tool for determining risk and proper system performance that can be used in a wide variety of applications involving new technologies.

Project: Northern Nevada Renewable Energy Training Project
Location: Reno
Amount: $500,000
Summary:  This project will establish a renewable energy technician training program to address the need for a skilled workforce to build and maintain renewable energy facilities. Comprehensive community-based renewable energy training programs like the one proposed in this project will play an important role in preparing our nation for a revitalized clean energy economy.

Water Projects

Project: Rural Nevada Water Infrastructure- Sec. 595
Location: Nevada (Statewide)
Amount: $15,000,000
Summary:  Funds will be used to support Sec. 595 of WRDA 1999 to provide rural localities in Nevada with funding for the design and construction of water supply, wastewater treatment, environmental restoration and surface water protection projects. The project will provide much needed improvements and construction for Nevada's rural water systems, helping compliance with stringent Federal drinking and wastewater standards and providing communities with safe reliable supplies of water.

Project: Las Vegas Wash Improvement Project; Las Vegas Wash/Lake Mead
Location: Las Vegas
Amount: $1,200,000
Summary:  The requested funding will provide for the development and implementation of restoration, habitat enhancement, and water quality improvement projects. Lake Mead is the Colorado River's largest reservoir that serves downstream communities in Nevada, California, Arizona and Indian Tribes with potable water.  Wash improvement will improve water quality and protect the surrounding environment.

Project: North Las Vegas- Water Reclamation Facility
Location: North Las Vegas
Amount: $2,000,000
Summary:  Funding will provide support for a wastewater reclamation facility needed to eliminate the use potable water for irrigating large turf areas and industrial uses. State and city funds are financing the bulk of the project, but Federal funds are needed to quickly deploy the facility to conserve water.

Project: Truckee Meadows, Nevada Flood Control Project
Location:  Reno
Amount: $10,000,000
Summary:  Funding will continue engineering and design work and start of initial construction on the Truckee River Flood Control project, which will provide flood damage reduction, eco-system restoration and recreation along the Truckee River. It will provide 100 year or better flood protection in downtown Reno and in the Meadows, protecting local population and businesses from devastating flooding.

Project: Tahoe Restoration (Section 108)
Location: Lake Tahoe
Amount: $3,000,000
Summary:  Funding will provide design and construction assistance for stream zone restoration and the control and treatment of urban storm water, which are critical components of the Environmental Improvement Program to restore the watershed in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The Lake Tahoe watershed is more than 75% federally managed, and the Lake is an "outstanding natural resource water" and an "impaired water body" under the Clean Water Act.  Funding will further the Federal interest of maximizing the Corps' environmental restoration goals and enhance water quality in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Project: Urban Flood Demonstration Program
Location: Reno
Amount: $2,500,000
Summary:  This funding will support an ongoing collaboration between the Army Corps of Engineers and the Engineer Research and Development Center to reduce flood damage in urban areas and develop integrated design tools for stream restoration. Flood management and stream restoration are key components of Corps of Engineers and FEMA's missions.  This project will contribute to the nationwide need for technology development in flood control and stream restoration in urban areas, which are in risk of severe economic damage as a result of flood damage.

Project: Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program
Location: Clark County
Amount: $2,500,000
Summary:  Funding will demonstrate the chemical and microbiological safety of recycled and reclaimed water, and improve the efficiency of desalination.  Funds will be used to address the ongoing impacts of drought in the west by advancing critical science and technologies to reduce costs of utilizing alternative water supplies.  Access to safe and reliable water supplies will ensure a stable economic base throughout the nation, but particularly in areas like the southwest.

Project: Tahoe Partnership
Location: Lake Tahoe
Amount: $400,000
Summary:  Requested funding will support for the design and construction of a stream zone restoration to control and treat urban storm water. The Lake Tahoe watershed is more than 75% federally managed, and the Lake is an "outstanding natural resource water" and an "impaired water body" under the Clean Water Act.  This funding will further the Federal interest of maximizing the Corps' environmental restoration goals and enhance water quality in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Project: Lake Tahoe Regional Wetlands
Location: Lake Tahoe
Amount: $2,500,000
Summary:  Requested funding will Lake Tahoe regional wetlands development and restoration. This funding will further the Federal interest of maximizing the Corps' environmental restoration goals and enhance water quality in the Lake Tahoe Basin.