Energy
Although there was a slight improvement in the average wage paid by the Clean Energy sector, jobs have continued to slip. These losses can be traced back to construction occupations used by Clean Industries. There are currently 22,000 Clean Energy jobs that pay an annual average wage of $65,300.
With wide open spaces and ample resources in solar, wind and geothermal, Nevada is a natural region for development of important renewable and sustainable energy resources. There is a strong commitment with the Statewide Renewable Portfolio Standard to reach 25% renewables by 2025. Projects are under way on all energy fronts:
- Pattern Energy: 150-megawatt Spring Valley wind farm, the state’s first utility scale wind facility in operation, recently opened near the town of Ely in eastern Nevada.
- Ormat Technologies: Currently delivers more than 160 megawatts of geothermal power either to NV Energy, the state’s largest utility or exports it to California.
- SolarReserve: Developing a 110-megawatt Crescent Dunes solar project near Tonopah in west central Nevada.
- Fulcrum: A California biofuels company, has announced plans to expand into Nevada and build a refinery to convert landfill waste to power near Reno.
- K2 Energy: A leader in the production of safe, clean, cost effective and reliable alternatives to current battery technologies.
- General Electric (GE): Improving the reliability and performance of critical production assets. Located in Minden, Nevada, the GE-Bently name has been synonymous with machinery protection and condition monitoring for more than 50 years.
- First Solar: One of the nation’s leading manufacturers of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, and currently developing a 300 megawatt (MW) PV solar farm two miles southwest of the California-Nevada border.
- Sempra: One of the largest photovoltaic (PV) solar plants in America is located in Boulder City, Nevada. Owned and operated by Sempra US Gas & Power, Copper Mountain Solar 1 consists of nearly one million solar panels spread over 450 acres.
- BrightSource: Developing their LPT solar thermal system at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System. The project, which counts NRG Solar, Google, and BrightSource as equity investors, is currently the largest solar plant under construction in the world.
Energy In The News
Las Vegas Review Journal; Nevada institutions of higher learning receive $20 million grant to study
Nevada higher education officials, along with U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Monday announced Nevada will receive a $20 million National Science Foundation grant to further the study of solar energy on desert...
Ormat Geothermal Plant in Nevada Sells Power to California
Ormat Technologies, Inc. entered into a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Southern California Public Power Authority to deliver electricity from its Wild Rose geothermal power plant in Mineral County,...
LVRJ Business Press; K2 Energy will mark grand opening of battery plant in Henderson
Las Vegas Review Journal Business Press By HOWARD STUTZ LAS VEGAS BUSINESS PRESS Nevada has been touted by the solar industry as enjoying on average more than 300 days of year of sunlight. So it made...
