renewable energy

By Andrew Doughman
CARSON CITY — The Legislature played host to a former director of the CIA yesterday, who came to voice support for a renewable energy bill.
James Woolsey, director of the CIA between 1993 and 1995, said the passage of the bill is a matter of national security.
Senate Bill 184 would establish a “feed-in tariff” program in Nevada, which would allow small-scale solar, wind, geothermal and other energy producers to “feed in” their energy to the grid.

By Andrew Doughman
RENO – President Barack Obama highlighted Nevada’s renewable energy sector today with a visit to the heat-to-energy company ElectraTherm, in northern Nevada.
In front of a backdrop of “green machines” Obama touted plans to end $4 billion in subsidies for oil companies in favor of providing incentives for renewable energy companies.

(AP) - Rep. Shelley Berkley said "jobs, jobs, jobs" is her top priority in Congress and that creating them will take investments in education, infrastructure and renewable energy."These are not ...

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – An organization that wants to see Yucca Mountain used as a temporary nuclear waste storage site with a research center to explore reprocessing has proposed an amendment to a bill in the Legislature to move its Energy Park idea forward.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Sometimes, trying to read the CEO’s mind can be a political game.
Critics of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proposed education cuts have said business owners will not move to a state that ravages its already low-performing education system with spending reductions.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
Professor Michael Young began to think last year that he should look for a job outside of Nevada.
It was not the craziest thought; the recession was in full swing and legislators were slashing the higher education budget.
Young was a departmental director at the Desert Research Institute. Now he’s an associate director at the University of Texas, Austin.

I watched from the gallery as Sen. Harry Reid called for an end to legal prostitution in his speech to the Nevada Legislature yesterday.

This part of the speech got wide coverage all over the world, overshadowing everything else he said. But there is one thing you should know. This was all an act, political theater that will have no effect on anything. So for all you folks riled up by this issue, just settle down and enjoy the show.

Sen. Harry Reid spoke at a joint session of the Nevada Legislature this morning, asking legislators not to cut education, and to have "an adult conversation" about outlawing prostitution.

The call for ending legal brothels was met by a a cool reception from the legislators who gave it only a smattering of applause followed by an uneasy silence. In the gallery was BunnyRanch owner Dennis Hof and some of his working girls.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – State senator Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, has had enough of percentages.
Just the numbers, please, was his basic request at a Senate Finance committee meeting this past week as various state agencies delivered their budget reports.

CARSON CITY – A Nevada group has beat out 71 national competitors to mentor small businesses under a federal program.
The federal Small Business Administration picked the Nevada Institute for Renewable Energy Commercialization earlier this week to be a pilot for an entrepreneurial mentoring program.
NIREC joins just three other companies nationwide in the program designed to pair mentors with participating companies to assess needs, opportunities and strategies.

By the California Department of Fish and Game
From nuisance black bears and increasing salmon numbers to automated license sales and poaching arrests, 2010 was a busy year for the California Department of Fish and Game.

A popular new reality show airing on the National Geographic Channel, “Wild Justice,” is capturing some of the department’s doings, but far more happens behind the scenes.

RENO — A new streamlined system to enable University of Nevada, Reno and Desert Research Institute (DRI) faculty to begin start-up companies and seek entrepreneurial partnerships is part of a new plan launched this month.

The idea, now a part of the university's Technology Transfer Office, is based primarily on a new standard license agreement, the “NSHE Express,” available to faculty-based start-up companies.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval today said he will embark on a multifaceted approach to rebuilding Nevada’s economy by assisting in private-sector job growth, including the creation of a $10 million “Catalyst Fund” to provide one-time incentives to businesses that want to relocate to the state.

By Andrew Doughman / Nevada News Bureau
Driving down debt and reining in federal spending might not two things people normally associate with Sen. Harry Reid, but that’s what he spent most of this time addressing on television tonight.
“We cannot sustain the spending of this country,” the Democrat said. “We cannot wind up being a Greece or an Ireland and default on our debt.”

Ramping down Nevada’s dependence on the gambling industry (and associated consumer spending) through developing new job-creating industries was the main topic at last Friday’s Nevada 2.0 economic forum at UNLV.
Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki used the word “retooling” as he spoke of the need for diversity in his opening remarks, adding that he did not believe the vision of  an economically robust Nevada was “Pollyanna-ish.”

A Lake Tahoe area public-private energy organization and the U.S. Energy Department have teamed up to make renewable energy more commercially available.

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Incline Village-based Nevada Institute for Renewable Energy Commercialization today announced their collaboration to accelerate the commercialization of a clean technology innovation owned and developed by the Laboratory.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov.-elect Brian Sandoval today announced two more appointments to his administration, naming Stacey Crowley as director of the Nevada State Office of Energy.
Sandoval also named Leo Drozdoff as director of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Sandoval will take office in January.

After three years of planning, designing and fundraising, The Greenhouse Project will take root in Carson City with a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, December 3 at Carson High School.

A breakfast Thursday morning hosted by the Northern Nevada Development Authority will feature a panel of experts who will discuss the business of energy, industry and innovation.
The meeting will be held at the Carson Nugget. Doors open at 7 a.m. with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. The cost is $20 for NNDA investors with reservations and $35 for guests or at the door. Questions, contact NNDA at (775) 883-4413.

With the focus on business development, the discussion will focus on ways to make the region innovative and profitable.

The panel includes:

By Nevada News Bureau staff
CARSON CITY – Nevada state Assemblyman Kelvin Atkinson has been selected to serve as vice chairman of the Council of State Governments-West in 2011.
The organization of state legislators from the Western U.S. holds regular meetings on issues and concerns common to western states.

A Green Living Festival will be held at Lampe Park in Gardnerville from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The event, sponsored by the Sustainable Living and Renewable Energy Roundup, features informational workshops, exhibits and an interactive Discovery Center with fun activities for kids — making smoothies with the bike blender, baking in solar ovens, making your own butter, beekeeping presentation, activities by Master Gardeners and the Great Basin Outdoor School. The event is free to the public. 

CARSON CITY – A Nevada group that offers training to non-union construction workers has sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford alleging an improper pro-union bias by some members of the State Apprenticeship Council.

The second annual Concert Under the Stars, a benefit for The Greenhouse Project, will be on Wednesday, July 14 at Adele's Restaurant and Lounge in Carson City.


With the Capital City filled with daytime summer events, the night will come alive on Wednesday, July 14, with the second annual Concert Under the Stars. at Adele's Restaurant and Lounge in Carson City.

The summer heats up with the 2nd annual “Concert Under the Stars” July 14th behind Adele’s Restaurant and Lounge in Carson City. Proceeds benefit Carson City’s Greenhouse Project. “Sons of Champlin” will headline the event. Led by former Chicago singer and band member Bill Champlin, the Sons are one of the pioneering bay area bands from the 1960s music scene and continue to rock audiences today. Local band Southpaw Freddie will open the show.

Two Nevada-based programs have been recognized by the federal government for having led the nation in efficiently using at least $18 million in federal stimulus money for energy projects, the Governor's Office has reported.
The Nevada State Office of Energy and the Nevada Housing Division have received letters from the U.S. Department of Energy commending their efforts at leading the nation by quickly and efficiently infusing federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds within Nevada communities. 

RENO – The three Republican candidates vying to become the next governor of Nevada engaged in a spirited discussion Friday on issues ranging from taxes and public education to the future of Yucca Mountain.

This morning in a statewide media conference call moderated by the Nevada News Bureau, candidate Brian Sandoval fielded questions on numerous issues including the 2003 Supreme Court ruling on the two-thirds legislative supermajority needed to increase taxes, tax policy, the Tax Pledge, budget cuts and higher education salaries, renewable energy mandates and the state’s health care reform lawsuit.

NV Energy announced today that its two Nevada-based utility subsidiaries have issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for renewable energy resources.