USA, Nevada:

Diversifying the Nevada Economy With Clean Energy

A new report was released yesterday on Clean Energy and its impact on Nevada’s economy. The 20 page report which was authorized by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, looks at a timeline covering the last ten years and what the future role of Clean Energy, including geothermal,  will play in diversifying the Nevada economy.

Senator Reid statement:

“There are more renewable energy projects under construction today than at any other time in Nevada’s history. That’s a major accomplishment,” said Reid. “The clean energy projects underway in Nevada did not happen by accident and they did not happen overnight and we must continue to ensure that Nevada realizes it’s clean energy potential. This means fostering more private-public partnerships and improving government and private sector coordination and not eliminating critical job-creating tax credits.”

Nevada is leading the way towards a clean energy economy and gaining significant dividends which include, but are not limited to:

• Clean energy job growth measured annually at 5.8 percent between 2003 to 2010
• Clean energy jobs that pay $8,000 more than the median wage for other jobs in Nevada
• Nevada’s Top 5 national ranking for installed solar photovoltaic, concentrating solar, and geothermal nameplate capacity
• The total estimated financial benefit of $1.04 billion to Nevada’s economy from the six projects featured in the report.

In addition, the state of clean energy in Nevada shows promise for significant amounts of future growth because:

• Nevada is ranked 1st nationally in the number of geothermal projects under development.
• Nevada is ranked 3rd nationally for utility scale solar photovoltaic capacity and projects under development.
• Nevada’s wind energy resources could provide nearly 60 percent of the state’s current electricity needs.
• The Bureau of Land Management recently designated more than 1,100 megawatts of renewable energy projects in Nevada as priority projects in 2012.
• Clean energy jobs in Nevada are currently projected to increase by nearly 11 percent between 2011 and 2016.

Nevada has one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates at 12.5 percent; the two main industries for Nevada are tourism and mining. Tourism, like in any state, is partially dependent on the nation’s economy, while mining companies in Nevada are making billions of dollars due to the rise in gold prices, their tax rate is low because they helped to write the Nevada State constitution more than 125 years ago, and an amendment to the States constitution would be required to change that.

Nevada needs to diversify its tax base in the State to create more jobs and to increase tax revenues, which in turn would help stop budget cuts to vital programs that all Nevadans have grown accustomed too.

President Obama Weekly Address: Investing in a Clean Energy Future Video