NV Poised for Solar Projects on Federal Lands (Public News Service, 10/11/10)

Public News Service - NV, October 2010 October 11, 2010 LAS VEGAS - Last week, California became the first state to get approval for solar projects to be built on federal lands, but Nevada is not far behind. Three Nevada projects are expected to be far enough along to qualify for federal stimulus funding before it runs out at the end of the year. They are Amargosa Farms in the Amargosa Valley, Crescent Dunes near Tonopah and a NextLight solar plant at Boulder City. Greg Seymour, renewable energy program coordinator for the Nevada Wilderness Project, says his group advocates a method known as "Smart from the Start" to select the sites. The goals are to forge agreements up front to minimize environmental damage and legal challenges, and to keep Nevada looking like...Nevada. "We're hoping to pick locations that are near communities or other industrial areas or near degraded locations, so that the really rural areas continue to be rural. They hold the historic and natural character that Nevada's famous for." Siting solar plants closer to towns makes the power cheaper to transmit, Seymour explains, and when all sides agree on a site early in the process, it also saves time and money. Job creation has been touted as a big benefit of renewable energy. Long before construction begins, there is already an economic impact to the state, he adds. "Those environmental companies have hundreds of employees - biologists, archaeologists, chemists, hydrologists and so forth - who are getting paid to do this work by the developer. So that money is already circulating. Those are not federal jobs; those are private-sector jobs that are paid for with private funding." Seymour says more than 80 solar and wind permit applications have been filed around the state. Not all will get the backing they need to become reality, but he points out that in the rush to develop them, the effects on wildlife and public lands could be substantial, without environmental sensitivity up front. More information about the solar developments now underway is available at www.wildnevada.org and www.doi.gov. Chris Thomas, Public News Service - NV