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ENERGY NEVADA VISION
Nevada’s public jurisdictions have
a unique opportunity to reduce & stabilize their operating
costs and improve the local economy through renewable energy.
Energy Nevada helps them achieve this goal through public/private
partnerships that put the risk on the private sector.
Nevada possesses a wealth of renewable energy – enough
to fully satisfy its own needs and earn perhaps $100 million
per year in power exports. Yet, Nevada imports over 50% of
its electrical energy at critical peak times, much of it at
high and volatile prices.
Having recognized this, The Carson City Economic Vitality
Coalition launched the Alternative Energy Working Group consisting
of:
Carson City
Carson City School District
Churchill County
Nevada State Office of Energy
Northern Nevada Cities
Northern Nevada Counties
Public Utilities Commission of Nevada
Washoe County
Washoe RTC
WNCC
and others
Through a rigorous RFP process, the Working
Group recruited a team of private sector partners to implement
the program. Please read this
short paper expounding on the Energy Nevada vision.
PROCESS
Energy Nevada will use the local market
for renewable power to:
• stabilize and reduce power costs
• bring budget certainty*
• achieve energy independence
• diversify the economy
• generate high-paying jobs
The Alternative Energy Working Group and Energy Nevada created
a vision of structured growth where no public funds are required
to fuel development. The Energy Nevada program will be self-funding
and self-capitalizing, where early project revenues support
development of larger projects and cost savings. Energy Nevada
will be funded by power revenues and shared savings –
not through funds from public sector Partners.
*Renewable energy’s costs are known
up front since there are no fuel cost with associated price
volatility. Operating costs are fixed as well. Energy efficiency
has even higher budget certainty and greater price reductions,
since costs are known up front, new technologies provide greater
savings, and savings continue for the life of equipment.
THE ENERGY NEVADA PARTNERS
The Energy Nevada Partners are a coalition
of local public jurisdictions (cities, counties, school districts,
state offices, universities, etc.) and Nevada industries.
The Partners form a united front for buying renewable energy
and energy efficiency. The Energy Nevada Partners pool their
buying power to increase their clout in the marketplace. The
net effect is to collectively develop energy choices like
a very large buyer.
The Energy Nevada development team creates project proposals
that the Energy Nevada Partners can evaluate. Project development
proceeds with no commitment of funds from the partners and
no obligation to accept any projects. This transfers all development
risk to the private sector.
This public/private partnership will:
• Accomplish what neither sector can on its own;
• Pool the Partners' buying power to maximize clout
in the energy marketplace;
• Create economies of scale for buying energy efficiency,
project planning/ engineering, and Nevada-based renewable
energy;
• Capitalize on Nevada's educational and technical resources
(UNR, DRI, community colleges, K-12, etc.) to tap innovation
and technology transfer as a powerful driver of economic growth;
• Create a model for a sustainable regional energy economy.
Energy Nevada Partners are only asked to commit to do new
energy and energy efficiency through the Energy Nevada partnership,
thereby providing a unified front for development. Partners
stay with their current supply arrangements until such time
as they find a proposal from the Energy Nevada team attractive.
Carson City is the “anchor tenant”; because of
the rigorous RFP process, other Nevada public entities can
join the Partnership without an RFP*. Energy Nevada will help
in the decision-making process through meetings with staff
and board members as desired. Industrial and commercial sector
Energy Nevada Partners can contract directly with Energy Nevada.
The Partnership is administered in a participatory environment
by Energy Nevada through monthly meetings, regular reports
and communications.
* District Attorneys’
legal opinions confirming the legal structure are available.
THE ENERGY NEVADA DEVELOPMENT TEAM
On the developers side, Energy Nevada has assembled a world-class
team, including experts in project development, policy and
economics, power marketing, and technologies. See the Partners
section for more details.
ENERGY NEVADA PROJECTS AND PROGRESS
Through our increased energy marketplace clout and economies
of scale, we will implement projects such as:
• Purchasing energy efficient equipment for Energy Nevada
partnerships to save money and time;
• Implementing small, local renewable energy projects
or cogeneration to reduce costs through net metering and reduced
transmission;
• Developing larger renewable energy projects to reduce
costs by selling directly to the partners.
• Energy Nevada has already begun dollar savings analyses
for several partners:
– Water system energy-generation for Carson City,
– Load analysis for RTC Washoe,
– Energy efficient street lighting upgrades for Energy
Nevada Partner cities & counties,
– and more.
EXAMPLES OF SPECIFIC OPPORTUNITIES
Near-term opportunities for:
• Pooling our buying power for energy efficiency and
distributed generation to stabilize and reduce prices.
• Reducing workload on your staff by using Energy Nevada
staff to identify and implement cost saving measures,
• Transferring risks (of performance, cost overruns,
etc.) to the private sector,
Mid-term opportunities to:
• Stabilize and reduce prices through alternative energy
projects,
• Improve energy reliability,
• Participate with Carson City and other local jurisdictions
to attract primary industry and strengthen the local economy
and enhance the regional reputation.
• Promote energy independence for Nevada.
Educational opportunities for:
• Grant funded renewable energy education: Energy Nevada
and partners are seeking grants for development and community
involvement, including educational programs,
• Student and classroom opportunities teaching the future
energy economy,
• Educational institutions and Energy Nevada to design
curricula for the needed renewable energy technical and vocational
skills.
© Copyright 2003, ENERGY
NEVADA LLC, All Rights Reserved.
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