by Reid Hamilton

Nevada’s economy was hit harder than most states by the Great Recession in 2008, but one of the brightest spots in the recovery has been the booming clean energy economy. Today, there are 20,752 clean energy and energy efficiency jobs in Nevada – that’s more than four times the number people employed by the fossil fuel industry.

Major utility-scale solar projects have been built, thousands of homes have added solar panels to their roofs, and Nevada was named home to Tesla’s new Gigafactory for manufacturing innovative battery technologies. The state has made significant progress and is on the cusp of leading the nation in the clean energy economy.

Much of the credit for this progress is because of the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) first passed by the Nevada Legislature 20 years ago. At the time, less than 5 percent of the state’s electricity came from renewable sources. Today, Nevada is on its way to meeting the goal of acquiring 25 percent of the state’s electricity from renewables by 2025, but because of loopholes in the RPS, the state will technically meet its goal by acquiring only 16 percent of its electricity from renewables.

Nevada’s RPS is outdated and overly complicated. It’s time to raise the bar for renewable energy to continue Nevada’s leadership in this booming industry. Raising the RPS will give confidence to clean energy entrepreneurs who can continue building Nevada’s clean energy industry while providing all Nevadans with reliable and affordable energy that keeps our air, land, and water clean. Nevada has already attracted more than $6 billion in renewable energy investment, but it has the potential to bring in more than $5 billion in wages with the addition of 92,000 construction jobs. Companies throughout the world are eager to invest in places, like Nevada, that have an abundance of renewable energy potential and proximity to major demand centers.

Nevada obviously has one of the best climates for solar power, but it also has significant wind and geothermal potential. Despite this renewable energy advantage, Nevada imports 90 percent of its energy – mostly natural gas -- from other states. This isn’t only a missed opportunity for creating jobs in Nevada, but it’s costing Nevada’s energy customers. The latest report on the costs of electricity-generation found that since 2009, the price of utility-scale solar has dropped 85 percent, and the price of wind has dropped 66 percent. The cost to build new utility-scale solar and wind is already competitive with the cost to build new gas plants -- even without government subsidies. Renewables also have the added benefit that the “fuel” is free and not subject to market volatility, like gas and coal. As the price of renewables continues to decline, fossil fuels are no longer just the dirtiest energy option; they also keep energy bills higher than necessary.

Assemblyman Chris Brooks (D-Las Vegas) recognizes the value in growing Nevada’s clean energy economy. He recently introduced Assembly Bill 206 to raise the share of Nevada’s energy from renewable sources to 50 percent by 2030 and provide a pathway to reach 80 percent by 2040. Maintaining this trajectory is critical for Nevada to remain competitive with other states that have also recognized the value of investing in clean energy. Today, Nevada doesn’t even rank in the top 10 among the strongest renewable portfolio standards in the United States. California, for instance, already has a 50 percent RPS goal set for 2030 and it has legislation on the table to match Hawaii’s 100 percent RPS goal by 2045. And it’s not just sunny states setting high RPS goals; Maine already gets 40 percent of its electricity from renewables. Assemblyman Brooks’ RPS bill will rank Nevada third in the country.

Nevada has made impressive strides in clean energy, and it has helped pull the state out of the doldrums of the Great Recession. It is time for legislative leaders to join Assemblyman Brooks in supporting an RPS that ensures we don’t lose ground as the rest of the country joins in on the clean energy revolution.

Reid Hamilton is a certified green builder and founder of Hamilton Solar, a Nevada-based installation company for residential and business solar systems. 

Photo of solar field courtesy NV Energy.