Nevada businesses support clean-energy measure
More than 300 Nevada businesses are backing climate and energy legislation in Congress that would create more than 4.5 million jobs and generate $280 billion in private investment, proponents of the bill said Thursday.
The American Clean Energy and Security Act is a major step toward creating "green" jobs and cutting back on pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, Pete Dronkers of the Nevada Clean Energy Works campaign said.
Business owners are sending a message to Washington that it's time to move forward with a bill that invests in the U.S. work force, sets carbon limits and encourages building efficiency, said Paul Thomsen, director of policy and business development for Reno-based Ormat Technologies.
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has called upon his colleagues to act quickly on the bill, which was authored by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.
The bill will create more than 10,000 jobs in Nevada to build the energy infrastructure of the future, said Eric Roberts, vice president for SH Architecture in Las Vegas.
The bill is important not only for its economic impact, but to bring about a cleaner Nevada and a cleaner nation, the architect said.
It's a strong issue nationally and locally for the American Institute of Architects. Buildings use about 40 percent of the nation's natural resources that are consumed, and they need to be designed more efficiently, Roberts said.
"It all starts with a comprehensive piece of legislation like the one being created," he said. "The benefits will go far beyond the architecture world, too. A good bill will make sure we use less oil and thereby increase our national security and it will also curb the pollution that is making people sick and causing global warming."
Dronkers said the 323 businesses that support the legislation range from large corporations such as Harrah's Entertainment, the 37th-largest privately held corporation, to small businesses such as dry cleaners and mom-and-pop operations.
Thomsen said the bill means a lot to Ormat Technologies, a worldwide designer and operator of geothermal production plants. The target for greenhouse gas opens a lot of markets that Ormat might have otherwise had trouble penetrating, he said.
Bob Coyle, president of Republic Services, said one of his commercial and residential waste disposal company's projects is converting its fleet of trucks from diesel fuel to natural gas, which would be the equivalent of taking 80,000 cars off the street. By the end of the year, Republic will have about 400 natural-gas-powered vehicles in service, he said.
Southern Nevada has embraced the concept of "green building" and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, Amargosa Valley real estate broker Michael DeLee said.
An audit of energy efficiency and utility costs will become part of the home-sale process next year, he said.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was passed last year, and the proposed Clean Energy and Security Act together could generate roughly
$150 billion a year in new clean-energy investments in the United States over the next decade, a report from the American Center for Progress at University of Massachusetts projects.
Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0491.
