Nevada coal power costlier than renewable: study - Reuters

Source: Reuters

Nevada coal power costlier than renewable: study
Tue Nov 20, 2007 8:45pm EST

By Bernie Woodall

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Nevada will likely save money and
surely cut pollution if it goes for renewable power instead
of building three huge coal power plants as proposed, an
independent economic consultancy said on Tuesday.

ECONorthwest said uncertainty over higher construction
costs and the value of what the group says is an inevitable
tax on carbon dioxide emissions will cause the cost of coal
power to skyrocket as wind, solar, and geothermal power
costs decrease.

Currently, renewable power is costlier to generate than coal
and unlike the black rock that now provides about 13 percent
of Nevada's power is not a "baseload" source -- a large plant
that can run around the clock.

Renewable power paired with a more aggressive energy
efficiency program will mean "Lower costs and lower risks
for ratepayers and probably will produce a higher number of
job opportunities for Nevadans," Ernie Niemi, ECONorthwest
analyst and primary author of the report, said during a
Tuesday telephone press conference.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN2063103120071121