Alternative energy bill sponsor will downgrade request from incentives to study

CARSON CITY – The sponsor of a "feed-in tariff" bill to promote alternative energy says he's now only asking for a study of the issue.

Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, said it's too late to convince members of the Assembly Committee on Commerce and Labor to pass Senate Bill 184 in time for a Friday deadline for "second house" committee passage in the Nevada Legislature.

Schneider said the committee, run by Assemblyman Kelvin Atkinson, D-North Las Vegas, is not well versed on complex energy policy and there isn't enough time to explain the details of feed-in tariffs, particularly to the freshmen.

"I'm not sure (Atkinson's) committee understands it all that well, because there are so many novices," he said.

The bill would have called on big utilities to pay so-called "feed-in tariffs" to small-scale energy producers who feed electricity into the grid.

The idea is to encourage small-scale producers to go beyond "net metering", which refers to utilities giving credit for power produced to offset the cost of the producer's on-site usage.

"You get paid a standard rate for a term, usually 20 years," said Luke Busby, a lobbyist advocating in favor of SB184.

Such a setup encourages owners of property that is spacious but has low energy demands, such as a warehouse, to use available space to produce excess solar or wind power that can feed into the grid.

The utilities would then be required to buy the power and pass it along to customers. Utilities, such as NV Energy, say mandates for feed-in tariffs can drive up the cost of power for all customers.

Busby said the purchase cost of the electricity is offset by the fact small scale producers are typically closer to consumers, as opposed to large power plants located far from population centers. The power produced by small scale operations also comes with renewable energy portfolio credits, which are passed along to the big utilities.

"They do cost more," he said of purchases from small producers. "But on the other hand you don't have to build a lot of transmission to get the power to the grid."

Schneider said he would ask the commerce committee to direct the Public Utilities Commission to conduct a study on the costs so the information is available for a bill in the 2013 session.

"That's better than nothing," Busby said.

SB184 passed the Senate 13-8. It was assigned to Atkinson's committee but hasn't yet come up for a vote. Even getting the study would require Atkinson to agree to put the measure up for a vote Friday, the deadline for committee passage.

Atkinson did not respond to a request for comment placed with his Assembly office.