So much sun, so little compliance

The quest to satisfy the state law on solar energy continues to be as elusive as the Holy Grail for Nevada electric utilities.

The Public Utilities Commission staff reports that Nevada Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Power Co. failed last year to comply with the state's minimum solar power use requirements and probably will miss meeting the minimum requirement again for 2007.

The two utilities have failed to meet the legal minimum for solar power use for four years, according to the Public Utilities Commission.

The companies have been waiting for Solargenix Energy to complete a 64-megawatt, solar thermal project called Nevada Solar One at Boulder City.

Solargenix and other renewable developers previously complained that they were having difficulty getting financing for promised projects because Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific would be the sole buyers and the utilities have junk bond ratings.

So the commission granted a two-year extension on the project. Solargenix contracted to start selling power from the plant on March 4 with the possibility of an extension, William Heck, renewables manager for the two utilities, said. But Solargenix missed the March 4 deadline.

The solar power company advised the utilities that a crane in Sweden was in an accident trying to load a large generator on a ship, Heck said.

"They missed the boat," Heck said.

Heck said he did not know details of the accident. Requests for comments from Solargenix were referred to Gilbert Cohen, who could not be reached.

Delivery of the large generator was delayed for 40 days, but the generator now has been installed, Heck said.

At a meeting this week, the commission learned the Solargenix plant probably will not be providing solar electricity to the utilities until June.

Heck, however, said June was the most pessimistic operational date and said Nevada Solar One could generate power for sale to the utilities by next week.

Because of the Solargenix startup delay, the commission staff expects the utilities will not meet the law's minimum requirement for 2007.

"(However,) 2007 is not over," Heck said. "We're still making our best efforts to acquire other solar resources."

The Nevada utilities last year were required to get 7 percent of their power from renewable sources, such as solar and wind power, and 9 percent this year. The law specifies that 5 percent of the renewable energy must come from solar power.

Nevada Power Co. is expected to satisfy the nonsolar renewable power requirement by buying renewable energy credits from Sierra Pacific Power Co. for 2006.

Sierra Pacific Power has extra credits for nonsolar "green power" because of geothermal power contracts going back decades, said Anne-Marie Cuneo, a manager with the commission staff.

With the completion of the Solargenix plant, the utilities are expected to comply with the solar requirement starting in 2008 and continuing for a few years, Cuneo said.

"I think they are making progress, but there are cost concerns regarding solar, and we have to keep this in mind as we go forward," said Eric Witkoski, chief of the attorney general's Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Solar is more expensive than other renewable power sources. But the price that the Nevada utilities will pay for electricity from Solargenix has been kept confidential because officials want to keep the information from competitors.

The utilities chose to contract for one 64-megawatt project, because it had "economies of scale" and would produce power for less than several solar plants with a total capacity of 64 megawatts, Heck said.

"We're disappointed that they are not meeting what the law requires," said Charles Benjamin, Nevada director for environmental group Western Resource Advocates.

He encouraged the utility to meet the solar standard "because Nevada has the best solar potential in the nation."

The utilities so far have avoided possible fines, and Heck hopes Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power will not be fined this time.

Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power could seek to recover a possible fine through a contract provision that deals with nonperformance by Solargenix.