Organizations with the RenewNV coaltion for a clean energy economy in Nevada are urging the Governor’s New Energy Industry Task Force to recommend substantial steps towards building more renewable energy in the Silver State.
The NEITF meets Tuesday to consider recommendations for the Legislature. Governor Brian Sandoval reconvened the NEITF in January to “encourage development of clean energy sources, and integrate renewable energy technologies into Nevada’s energy sector, foster the creation of a modern, resilient, and cost-effective energy grid, and support distributed generation and storage with a specific focus on rooftop solar and net metering.”
Groups with RenewNV, a coalition launched this year to promote development of Nevada’s abundant renewable energy resources, see particular promise around three areas of potential legislation and regulatory change:
* Promotion of energy-efficiency measures, particularly for low- and fixed-income households;
* A new billing structure that will resurrect the residential rooftop-solar industry effectively destroyed by new, punitive charges enacted in December 2015;
* And support legislation to authorize the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada to permit community solar, also called shared solar, with a focus on expanding solar access to communities of color and low income neighborhoods.
“Many of the proposals recommended by the New Energy Industry Task Force today set a policy agenda that will give more Nevadans access to clean renewable energy right where they live,” said Andy Maggi, executive director of the Nevada Conservation League Education Fund, a RenewNV coalition member. “We hope to see our legislators and the Governor take these recommendations into the next session and work to make Nevada a clean energy leader.”
