The state Legislature may have dictated that a certain percentage of the electricity we use must come from renewable sources, but the state Public Utilities Commission has suddenly realized that does not mean: at any cost.
The commissioners refused to approve 10 renewable energy contracts NV Energy had proposed. The draft order says NV Energy “has failed to meet its burden of proof by failing to identify the extent to which the new contracts are necessary to meet demand and comply” with the renewable portfolio standard — which requires 15 percent of power come from “green” energy now, climbing to 25 percent in 2025.
The order went on to say NV Energy “also does not effectively analyze the cost risk associated” with the contracts, as required by law.
Is the “green” energy needed — when the head of the company has already testified it has enough power resources to serve its customers for the next decade — and does it cost ratepayers too much? Many renewable producers charge the power company four times what it would cost to get the power from a fossil-fuel facility. The commissioners gave NV Energy 90 days to answer these two questions.
Searsburg, Vermont, wind turbines
But proponents of “green” energy whined about the delay and suggested there is some urgency.
The urgency is that some of that free money from Uncle Sugar might be snatched back and make their projects impossible to finance, since the projects don’t pencil out without the subsidies.
Jennifer Robison’s story in Saturday’s Review-Journal quoted Tim Carlson, managing partner of Reno wind-farm developer Nevada Wind. He said delaying deals for three months could cost him tax incentives that fund 30 percent of his wind farm, because they may expire before construction can begin. Without that, he admitted, if would be hard to borrow funds.
Robison quoted Commissioner Rebecca Wagner saying, “It’s not rocket science. We just need something to hang our hat on to approve these. Give us a reason to approve the contracts. It shouldn’t take 90 days to get it back in here, get people back to work and get these projects up and running. Not meeting a burden of proof is not something I can get beyond.”
Going weak in the knees already?
4TH ST8 
Weak in the knee? Nope I have no choice unless others are willing to join in alternatives that actually work.
Frak, Frak like our lives depend on it.
How about in Texas? Oh yes; since 1999, all under Rick Perry’s watch. http://www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us
I believe TX leads the nation in generation of electricity via wind, and ERCOT, the governing body provides the market in Renewable Energy Credits , (RECs).
Oil man T Boone Pickens jumped all over it a few years ago, and had a field day building wind farms subsidized by Uncle Sam. He advertised all over the media trumpeting this new way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and would still be at it except for two small issues.
The windy section of the state is out west, and no one cares too much if you build a wind farm out there. Not even any migratory bird defenders to prevent the geese from becoming chopped liver on the way south. There are thousands of units there thanks to Pickens. Small problem; no transmission lines to get the electricity to the population centers. He tried to slam through some legislation to have the taxpayers pony up a few billion to build the transmission lines, but met some well coordinated resistance.
Then the Barnett Shale came in, and the game changed. Gas plummets from $14 per MCF to $2.90, and the windy wonks were left with no wind in their sails. T Boone switched back to gas, and the noise settled down.
TX is ahead of their target in generating 10,000 Megawatts via alternative sources before 2025. So much so, a new rider was added to mandate that 500 Megawatts has to come from a source other than wind, primarily biomass. The think tank providing all the statistics is the http://www.UCSUSA.org , an organization of “concerned scientists” based of all places in Cambridge, MA. Apparently their “concerns” fell on deaf ears in the Commonwealth as the proposed wind farm out there off Hyannis and the Kennedy compound has been a no-go.
I would love to see if all the jobs projected were actually created. I have a friend that builds and runs biomass plants, and a giant one in upstate NY is run with around 6 people. Their thermo plant in Nevada is very profitable (with the subsidies thrown in), and run with just a few folks as well.
Is burning money to meet our energy needs, considered using ‘green energy’?
That's seems to be about how it is working now.
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