Nevada’s Solar Bait-and-Switch

By Jacques Leslie| February 1, 2016 WHEN President Obama proclaimed in his State of the Union address last month that “solar is saving Americans tens of millions of dollars a year on their energy bills,” he clearly wasn’t talking about Nevada. In late December, the state’s Public Utilities Commission, which regulates Nevada’s energy market, announced a […]

Net metering rules may change Nevada’s green energy strategy

By Sean Whaley | January 31, 2016 CARSON CITY — Nevada government and business leaders may have to shift at least part of their established economic development focus from renewable energy to other opportunities if new net metering rules drive the rooftop-solar business out of Nevada as predicted by industry officials. Rooftop solar was only […]

Nevada hunters give thumbs-down to drones, electronic guns

By Alex Corey | January 31, 2016 Big game hunters want you to leave the drones at home. The buzzing bots are quickly invading nearly every aspect of American life as people find uses for them in photography, surveying and now hunting. On Friday, the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners took public comment on a proposal […]

Little-known conservation district studies tax increase

By Bethany Barnes| January 31, 2016 Until recently, the Southern Nevada Conservation District has flown mostly under the radar. That low profile is about to change, though, now that the seven-member board has the power to ask voters to consider a tax increase. That power has the business community and elected officials asking questions about […]

Civil War on Your Rooftop

By Carl Pope | January 29, 2016 The fierce counterattack by utilities against the disruptive surge of roof-top solar peaked this month on the West Coast. California’s big utilities successfully petitioned for increased “exit fees” for cities or counties leaving the utility to purchase electricity for their residents on the open market — typically obtaining […]

Sandoval rebuffs efforts to name Nevada mine a Superfund site

By Sandra Cherub | January 29, 2016 CARSON CITY — Gov. Brian Sandoval told federal environmental regulators Friday there are no imminent health concerns at an abandoned copper mine near Yerington to demand immediate listing as a national priority for Superfund cleanup. In a letter to Jared Blumenfeld, regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in […]

Refuge standoff: Our federal public servants deserve better

By Rocky Barker | January 28, 2016 BURNS, ORE. – When a longtime U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee returned here from his Christmas holiday, he immediately was ordered to take his family and leave. “We had heard there was going to be a Fish and Wildlife Service person taken hostage,” explained Jason Holm, assistant regional director […]

Did solar lobbying tactics sow the seeds of the Nevada net metering controversy?

By Herman K. Trabish | January 28, 2016 Only a nascent solar market less than two years ago, debates in Nevada over net metering policies have captured the attention of utilities and renewable energy advocates nationwide at the beginning of 2016. At the end of December, utility regulators issued a decision calling for reforms to […]

Who Owns the Sun?

By Noah Buhayar | January 28, 2016 Outside the Public Utilities Commission office, which is on the second floor of a modern, three-story building about 7 miles from the Strip in Las Vegas, a chorus of women are shouting to the tune of a Beastie Boys classic: “We’re gonna fight … for our right … to go soooolar!” It’s […]

What can Southern Nevada do about its water problem?

By Sun Staff | January 25, 2016 The water level in Lake Mead has dropped to historic lows, forcing the construction of a third straw at the bottom of Las Vegas’ reservoir. Gov. Brian Sandoval’s panel of experts issued a report that recommended more aggressive water-saving plans. If you follow the headlines, it looks as if […]