Nevada’s growing campaign to tap clean, renewable energy is coming up on an exciting and fundamentally important turning point.
The state Public Utilities Commission is being asked by NV Energy to approve construction of a solar panel array in North Las Vegas to serve one of the power company’s largest customers, Internet data center Switch.
The company, which draws huge amounts of power to keep its servers cool, was one of several big businesses in Las Vegas trying to escape the clutches of NV Energy so it could buy solar-generated power independently. Its motive was both altruistic and economical: solar energy is cleaner, cheaper and renewable, and in Nevada, plentiful.
But NV Energy was fighting Switch’s efforts to cut the cord, saying the costs of maintaining the power grid would fall on fewer customers and was unfair to them.
The two sides reached a compromise July 13 that is worthy of a standing ovation: Switch will stick with NV Energy on its promise to partner with private company First Solar to build a 100-megawatt solar array in North Las Vegas to serve Switch. Until the project is ready for showtime in 2016, Switch — which consumes as much power as 50 Super Wal-Marts — will pay a premium to buy only solar power from NV Energy and no longer use power from carbon-emitting sources.
We certainly expect the PUC will bless this constructive turn of events because of the remarkable message it sends: Solar power is clearly the power of choice in Nevada, and the state’s utility monopoly being responsive to its customers sends a green message. (Yes, NV Energy also needs to allow more homeowners to install rooftop solar panels, but that’s a continuing battle for another day.)
Switch’s vice president of government affairs, Adam Kramer, thanked NV Energy CEO Paul Caudill for agreeing to the deal. Caudill has been on the job for less than two years.
“Not until Paul came in were we able to come to this solution,” Kramer said.
So now it’s in the hands of the PUC to bless the deal. It will be a historic moment in the greening of Nevada, especially for those who remember 10 years ago when former President Bill Clinton admonished a group of civic and business leaders to aggressively pursue clean, renewable energy. How could Nevada not want to capitalize on its abundant sunshine and sufficient space to construct solar arrays?
“If I were the economic development czar for America today or if I were in charge of economic planning for Las Vegas and Nevada today, I would start by making a complete and total commitment to a clean energy future, because I think you can create more jobs there than anywhere else,” Clinton told the audience.
At the conclusion of his remarks, the 1,600 people in attendance gave Clinton a standing ovation.
With Rob Roy, the founder and CEO of Switch, and NV Energy investing in solar power, eyes now turn to the PUC to approve the arrangement and help push Nevada further into the 21st century.
This is what Clinton was talking about, and we’re now getting on board. Nevada is moving beyond offering words of support for clean, renewable energy. Now we’re more fully investing in it, as we should be.
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