solar

Here's the speech made Wednesday by Carson City Mayor Bob Crowell at the 2016 Chamber of Commerce State of the City address held at Gold Dust West:

The Public Utilities Commission approved three renewable energy agreements Monday that add 129 megawatts of solar generation capacity in Nevada and bolster the efforts of Apple Inc. and Switch, Ltd., to operate their Nevada data centers with 100 percent green energy.

Despite the Public Utilities Commission's apparent succumbing to pressure to reconsider grandfathering 17,000 rooftop solar customers, SolarCity will file a referendum Monday to change the existing law, sources confirm.

While the debate roiled this week over rooftop solar and state regulators denying a stay of news rates, a class-action suit was filed alleging a bait and switch by the utility.
This was inevitable, I suppose, and is far from the end of this political/legal/public policy battle.
You can read it here.

In the early 1970s, as assistant city engineer in Urbana, where I attended the University of Illinois, I worked on bikeways, sewer systems to minimize pollution, promoting underground power and telephone lines, and other “green” projects. Later, as a university research engineer, I worked on many other environmental, energy and policy issues.

USDA Rural Development is holding energy workshops to help farmers and rural small business owners learn about how to use the Rural Energy for America Program grant to reduce energy costs.

Grant funding is available for up to 25 percent of the cost to purchase and build alternative energy systems (solar, wind, hydro power, etc.) or to enhance energy efficiency with new lighting, windows or more efficient HVAC systems.

The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada will consider a draft order Tuesday that would implement new rates for NV Energy customers who participate in net energy metering.

Net metering allows customers to receive credit on their bills for electricity generated by solar energy systems that they own or lease.

Supporters of action on climate change took to public venues and social media throughout Thanksgiving weekend about the need for bold global action at the Paris Climate Talks.

Activists from organizations including the Sierra Club, Peoples Climate Movement, Avaaz and others took part in public Sunday strolls and rallies at two key venues, the Reno-Tahoe International Airport and public sidewalks near Meadowood Mall, as part of global climate actions coordinated by 350.org.

Climate change is the cause of everything, even crime, prostitution and terrorism.
Those are among claims studies have made in recent years. With world leaders meeting in Paris this week to discuss a new global climate treaty, we'll hear more of these stories.

The terrorism connection, which blames the rise of ISIS (or the Islamic State) on climate change in Syria, is particularly noteworthy because President Obama said earlier this year that climate change is a greater threat than terrorism. We're guessing that will encounter some skepticism in Paris right now.

Science is a process, not a doctrine. It asks questions and sets out to test them for answers. But our culture seems to regard science in an animate form, like a guru seated atop a mountain.

We put science on a pedestal and submit to it as the final authority on all of our problems and important questions. We rely on science to give us the answers.

We even permit science to be the driving force behind public policy, in spite of the fact that science is a search for questions that remain unanswered.

Take the issues of climate change and global warming.

More than $177 million has been invested through the USDA into rural Nevada communities in the past year, assisting more than 700 families in either helping them buy homes or to make improvements to their properties, and investing more than $28 million for community water and sewer system repairs, officials said Friday.

Have you ever wondered why there has been such a big push in the past decade or two toward so-called green energy?

I surmise that the reason has less to do with saving the environment, and more to do with saving the pockets of people who have tied up their fortunes in it.

Solar and wind power sources have been around for decades, but they’ve never really caught on. Kind of like electric cars. There have been fads and trends toward them, but none that have been proven to last the tests of time.

NV Energy residential customers considering investing in rooftop solar are invited to attend an upcoming NV Energy “Solar for Homeowners” workshop Wednesday, Oct. 14 in Sparks.

Representatives of NV Energy’s SolarGenerations program will explain the fundamentals of solar electricity and share valuable consumer awareness tips and resources to help customers make an informed decision when choosing solar.

The purpose of these free workshops is to empower customers to be informed prior to making a solar investment. Workshop topics will include:

Calculating your home’s energy use.

David Gaskin has been named deputy director overseeing department environmental and stormwater management programs for the Nevada Department of Transportation, officials announced Thursday.

Gaskin will work out of the Carson City headquarters and oversee NDOT environmental programs, including policy, regulatory and educational efforts to manage stormwater involving state roads and transportation facilities in accordance with state and federal laws.

We often hear that electricity can be generated cheaply and with no environmental impact from the wind and sun.

Sounds good. But long ago, folks were also assured that nuclear power would be “too cheap to meter” and the only safe environmental choice.
The catches then were the same as now: First, the cost claim was based on biased estimates by the advocates for these sources, not on competitive market data.

NV Energy will file with state regulators a week from Friday to show it plans to comply with new rooftop solar (so-called net metering) requirements renewable advocates agreed to in the Legislatuire but are now asserting are unfair....

Learn about the universe, the origin and development of humans on Earth, and the possibility of life on other planets, in two Western Nevada College astronomy classes offered his fall. Planetary Astronomy and Introduction to Astrobiology will offer the opportunity to learn from a scientist with ties to space industry.

A Mound House RV repair outfit, a community agriculture ranch in Washoe Valley and a motel in Fallon are among the recipients of energy grants awarded Tuesday by USDA Rural Development Nevada.

As part of its cultural commitment to living sustainably with the environment, The Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California is boosting its clean-energy capacity with the construction of seven new solar arrays built by Reno nonprofit Black Rock Solar. In addition to the 113 kW of power BRS built for them in 2011, BRS is currently building seven new Carson City area arrays for the tribe.

Bills putting the state Public Utilities Commission in charge of figuring out rates for roof-top solar users and raising credit requirements for Millennium Scholarship recipients were signed into law Friday by Gov. Brian Sandoval....

A compromise measure meant to ensure that Nevada’s rooftop solar industry continues to grow while protecting utility customers who do not participate in net metering won approval Monday in an Assembly committee....

The Nevada Senate on Sunday unanimously approved a bill that puts state regulators in charge of deciding how to credit rooftop solar homeowners for electricity generation without shifting costs to other utility customers....

The Nevada JobConnect will hold a Job Fair for those looking for a job in the manufacturing industry on Wednesday, May 13, 2015 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Reno Town Mall at 4001 S. Virginia St., Reno.

As Nevada continues to recover from the recession, employers are steadily adding jobs to the economy, creating more opportunities for jobseekers, said Renee Olson, administrator for Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation’s Employment Security Division, which oversees Nevada JobConnect.

Uber might be on the front burner in the Nevada Legislature lately, but there is another pressing consumer issue awaiting resolution for those who want to leave the grid, or at least make a buck off of it....

The newly renovated Farmers Bank building, located at 1597 Esmeralda Ave., in Minden will be open to the public from 3-6pm on Tuesday May 12, 2015. Tours of the building will be given in small groups so that people can ask questions and learn about the unique features of the building.

During this time, the summer kick off Minden Street Celebration event will be held on Esmeralda Ave., with food, music, vendors, and family friendly activities.

Scientists have been trying to make sense of out of what makes the earth move for centuries. The earthquake disaster in Nepal on April 25 brings attention to human frailty in the face of Mother Nature. In spite of and because of these disasters, scientists continue to work to solve the geologic and seismic puzzles around the globe.

A poll of 300 likely Nevada voters suggests that state lawmakers could suffer at the polls come election time next year if they do not support expanding rooftop solar efforts through a net metering program....

After a series of high-end meetings with Gov. Brian Sandoval and NV Energy officials, the state's rooftop solar industry says it is still in danger of shutdown by the end ......

Nevada’s burgeoning solar industry on Wednesday accused NV Energy of trying to maintain its power monopoly by stifling a program that lets customers with rooftop solar arrays get credit for producing extra electricity....

Gov. Brian Sandoval will meet with solar industry officials to discuss a controversial cap that limits how many consumers can put solar panels on their homes and ......