Overhauling our Nation’s Energy Policy
Our country is too dependent on oil and fossil fuels, which pollute our air, place our economy and national security at risk, and contribute to global warming. As the Senate Majority Leader, I am working on a dramatic overhaul of our nation’s energy policy so that Americans now and in the future will have safe, reliable and affordable supplies of clean energy.

On December 13, 2007, the Senate passed a landmark Energy Bill (H.R. 6) that raises fuel economy standards for the first time in 30 years. It also establishes an aggressive renewable fuel standard that will help make our country self-reliant on American-grown biofuels. These measures will save Nevadans over $170 million each year, create jobs, and help protect our economy from oil price shocks.

The 2007 Energy Bill is just one of many important steps we must take forge a clean energy revolution. Under my leadership, the Senate recently took another critical step by passing legislation, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA), which was signed into law in early October 2008, that extends and expands much needed tax credits for renewable energy and energy efficiency. For the most up to date listing of these important incentives and their benefits please click here or here.

I was pleased to help ensure the legislation included long-term extensions of the solar investment tax credit and eliminated the previous cap on that credit for residential solar electric systems. These kind of incentives are imperative for our protecting our economic, energy and national security. They help businesses and consumers tap into the American innovative spirit, create jobs and build sustainable economic growth, and will speed the development of Nevada’s and the West’s abundant solar, wind, and geothermal resources. These are the energy resources that can help cost-effectively reduce our inefficient use of dirty fossil fuels, and through the electrification of our transportation sector, stop our addiction to oil.

Supporting Renewable Energy in Nevada and Across America
In August, I joined with the Center for American Progress Action Fund, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to host the National Clean Energy Summit. This event brought together a diverse group of individuals to discuss our country’s growing energy needs. Business leaders, elected officials, and experts in energy development and technology came together to develop a list of policy recommendations that will guide federal and local government in rapidly developing clean renewable energy and growing a green economy.

Our nation’s security and environment rests on our ability to access renewable energy resources, and to invest in greater energy efficiency. To ensure that this important conversation remains prominent, the National Clean Energy Summit’s website has been updated to include the summit’s highlights. 

Nevada has the potential to be the nation’s renewable energy epicenter. In fact, I strongly believe that Nevada can become a net exporter of renewable power with the right partnership between federal and state government and the private sector. Southern Nevada’s abundance of clear sunny days make it one of the best locations for solar energy in the world, and northern Nevada holds the largest amount of untapped geothermal resources in the United States. There are also tremendous wind resources throughout the state.

That is why I have consistently supported a national renewable electricity standard, as well as fair and stable federal tax incentives for development of clean energy resources, like geothermal, solar, and wind. I have worked hard to add geothermal energy to the list of renewable energy projects eligible for the renewable energy production tax credit and loan guarantees.

Accessing Our State’s Renewable Energy Resources
An important step towards making Nevada a national renewable energy leader is accurately identifying all of our solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass potential. We know that our State has immense clean energy resources; however, the federal government’s management of 86 percent of Nevada’s land makes it challenging to explore and develop our enormous renewable energy resources.  In August 2008, for the second year in a row, I convened a meeting of state leaders and Nevada Federal agency and military representatives to discuss expediting renewable energy development. As a result of the first meeting in 2007, we agreed to work together in creating a set of interactive maps of Nevada’s developable renewable energy resources. You can view these maps online here. These maps are important tools that are helping to guide development of the richest clean energy resources in the most environmentally acceptable areas.

Delivering Renewable Power to Nevadans through Transmission
One of the largest impediments to increasing electricity generation from clean renewable sources is accessibility to transmission lines. That is why I have introduced legislation – the Clean Renewable Energy and Economic Development Act (CREEDA) – to provide additional financing options for building new transmission lines and interconnections to areas rich with renewable energy resources. By designating renewable energy zones, where natural clean resources could generate at least 1,000 megawatts of power, my bill would establish a framework for developing new renewable energy – dedicated transmission.

Some of Nevada’s best renewable energy resources are located in rural areas where access to transmission lines is sorely lacking. Upgrading transmission lines in these energy rich locations will create jobs and can power towns and cities throughout our great state. Transmission lines linking northern Nevada with southern Nevada must be built so that we can fully reap the benefits of our abundant renewable energy resources, improve the reliability of the grid, and make energy use more efficient and affordable.

Efficiency and Conservation
As energy costs continue to eat into consumers’ savings, our country must make more serious investments in energy efficiency research and in technology deployment. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy estimated that America wasted $327 billion that could have been saved by making small energy efficient investments with short paybacks. Reducing energy consumption and becoming more energy efficient in our communities, homes and businesses is the most cost-effective and practical way to increase total energy supplies, reduce harmful pollution, and protect our economy from volatile energy prices.

Nevadans have been paying record high prices for electricity, and could face additional rate hikes in the near future. Energy efficient homes and buildings reduce the demand for electricity at the utility level and reduce the need for utilities, especially in southern Nevada, to buy expensive out-of-state power to meet peak power needs. Energy efficiency and conservation are practical and cost effective – they have the potential to reduce entire U.S. energy demand by 14 to 19 percent by 2020 without costing a dime in the long run.

For consumers hardest hit by increasingly expensive energy, Congress has acted several times in recent years to put additional funds into the weatherization program to help people make their homes more energy efficient, as well as the low-income home energy assistance program that helps people pay their bills when times are tough.

The 2007 Energy Bill improves efficiency and reduces energy consumption through improved standards for federal and commercial buildings, as well as appliances and lighting. Consumer appliances, like dishwashers, washing machines, refrigerators and freezers will now use less electricity and reduce energy costs. New buildings will have to use less energy, following the federal government’s lead with a new zero net energy initiative for federal buildings. The recently passed Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 also extends tax credits for energy efficient appliances, homes and buildings, and expands incentives for consumer’s purchasing plug-in electric drive vehicles.

Opposing New Coal Plants in Nevada
Nevada’s abundant renewable resources can make our State a national and global leader in clean energy production and technology development if we work together to make that happen. Given those incredible free-fuel resources, there is no good reason to divert billions of dollars from their development and instead build new coal-burning plants in eastern Nevada using out-dated technologies that spew pollutants that damage people’s health, deplete precious water resources, reduce visibility in our parks and communities, and add to the growing risks of global warming. In addition, building new coal plants would commit ratepayers to paying billions of dollars in imported fuel costs for the next half century or longer, and would not improve Nevada’s energy independence. I will continue fighting proposals to waste Nevadans’ money on new coal plants with old inefficient combustion technologies.  Our long-term goal should be to finally free Nevada from its dependence on fossil fuel and electricity imports altogether.

You can find more information about why coal power is not right for Nevada in the following reports:

• The Adverse Effects of Coal Power Plants on Water Resources 
• Decline in New Coal Power Plant Construction
• Job Growth from Investment in Renewable Energy