Nevada city actively seeking ecopower development

Carson City, Nevada, has launched a private-public initiative called Team Nevada, with the aim of drawing businesses willing to invest in renewable energy technology.

According to this article, the project also has backing from the Nevada Commission on Economic Development and renewable energy investment engine NV Energy.

From wind to solar to geothermal, Nevada offers a lot of renewable energy potential. To harness this, Nevada is building a 250-mile long grid that runs north-south, enabling renewable energy projects to tap into the delivery system.

Smart states are getting ahead of this trend. Every state has an economic development commission of some sort. Now is the time for state business interests to convince government to establish separate commissions to go after cleantech. Or at least to have working groups within the existing commissions.

Renewable energy sources account for biggest chunk of new U.S. energy sources in 2007

Renewable energy sources are gaining enough traction to account for the biggest piece of the pie when it comes to gains in U.S. electrical output.

General electrical capacity increased by 2.3% in 2007, according to Electrical Power Annual 2007. Total 2007 electrical capacity was boosted to 4,157 million megawatt-hours, up from 4,065 MWh in 2006.

Net summer capacity increased by 8,673 MW, with wind power accounting for 5,186 MW.

Renewable energy remains but a drop in the bucket, however. Renewables generate 105 million MWh annually, just 2.5 % of total electrical capacity.

The Obama administration needs to put more money into this sector. Reducing energy costs - and doing it more cleanly - will be a bellweather issue this century. We need to get a head start on the world so we can export the technology.