50% Renewables Bill Passes NV Senate, Unanimously

[OKIsItJustMe]

https://www.nrdc.org/experts/dylan-sullivan/50-renewables-bill-passes-nv-senate-unanimously

50% Renewables Bill Passes NV Senate, Unanimously
April 17, 2019 | Dylan Sullivan

The Nevada Senate voted today, April 16, 2019, unanimously, across party lines, to update Nevada’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS), the law that sets the minimum amount of electricity that big Nevada electricity providers must get from clean, renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and geothermal. Nevada was once at the forefront of renewable energy policy: it was the fourth state to establish minimum renewable energy standards when it did so in 1997. But in recent years, Nevada has fallen behind. Senator Chris Brooks’ bill, Senate Bill 358, would once again make Nevada a national leader. It would update and reform the RPS so that, by 2030, 50 percent of Nevada’s electricity will come from clean, renewable energy.

The 458-megawatt Copper Mountain Solar 1 (at left), and 64-megawatt Nevada Solar One (at right) plants, south of Boulder City, Nevada, with the Las Vegas Strip in the background.

Credit: Michael Adams

NRDC and our partners have analyzed a 50 percent renewable energy future for Nevada from several perspectives. Here are our most important results:

• Enacting a 50 percent RPS like SB 358 could save ratepayers over $192 million over the next 20 years, when compared to a future where utilities rely more on gas-fired power plants to meet demand, according to an analysis commissioned by Western Resource Advocates and Southwest Energy Efficiency Project.
• SB 358 would also spur economic development across the state, bringing in more than $539 million in wages, generating $1.5 billion in economic activity, and supporting an additional 11,170 clean energy jobs in 2030. We wrote a detailed overview of this study, commissioned by NRDC and completed by respected energy analysis firm ICF, here.
• …