Comment on Nevada is greening…slowly by ninoinreno
Growing up in Ely taught me several things. One of which is the importance of sustainable jobs in a rural area. My father worked for Nevada Northern Railroad and survived strikes and layoffs due to the ebb and flow of Kennecott Copper Corporation operations. Senator Reid and environmental paranoia managed to completely eliminate the possibility of a coal fired power plant which could have provided over 200 construction jobs and 100 permanent jobs to White Pine County. Instead, the residents are left with 8,500 acres of solar panels; let that sink in, 8,500 acres or 13 square miles of land which will only supply jobs to fifty construction workers and ten full time maintainers.
The coal plant would have generated 1500 megawatts which can power over 1.5 million homes. The home generation estimate is variable upon peak usage but the 1.5 million homes are far more than the 150,000 homes powered by a generation plant taking up 13 square miles of land. I understand the debate is about carbon emissions but clean coal plants are a real possibility that provides 77% improvements in emissions compared to older plants. (American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity)
I glad White Pine County is gaining employment opportunities although the opportunity that passed by was far superior to the current possibility. Does it make sense to sacrifice lower power bills and 100 jobs to give in to the environmental movement that is factually skewed?