Green Options » Nevada

Nevada Dairy Cows are Ready for Cap-and-Trade with New Biogas Digester

Tina Casey — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:38:34 +0000

Desert Hills Dairy of Nevada has joined with Carbon Bank Ireland, an emerging leader in cap-and-trade carbon emissions markets, to build the state’s first biogas facility to convert cow manure into electricity. Along with producing enough sustainable methane to power itself and other equipment at the second largest dairy in Nevada, the high tech digester will produce liquid fertilizer and mulch.

Carbon Bank Ireland specializes in harvesting certified emissions credits from sustainable energy projects, which can be traded in the European carbon markets. While some pundits claim that cap-and-trade is “socialism on a grand scale” (whatever that is), that doesn’t appear to bother the cows. It also doesn’t appear to bother Nevada, which sees a lot of green in its future. As reported by Nevada Appeal writer Kirk Caraway, interest in the state’s rich solar, wind and geothermal resources is surging, and it is becoming a desirable location for start-ups that are developing sustainable projects such as the capture of waste heat and the development of hi tech batteries. Green jobs, anyone?

Read more of this story »

Permit to Kill Endangered Species Sought by Clark County and 5 Nevada Cities

Rhishja Larson — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:43:26 +0000

Local governments in Nevada are seeking a permit from the Department of the Interior to kill endangered species so they can “develop” 200,000 acres of desert habitat.

Nevada’s Clark County and the cities of Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas, Mesquite, and North Las Vegas were authorized in 2001 to destroy 145,000 acres of fragile desert habitat. That is, they have permission to “take” 78 species of animals and plants - including the threatened desert tortoise - in order to further develop the overbuilt Nevada desert.

But they want more.

Read more of this story »

9 Simple-Tech Vehicles From Burning Man

Susan Kraemer — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:44:27 +0000

Image Dave Otsubo

Ever imagine scenarios of possible futures based on different trajectories we seem to be on?

One such scenario is a Mad Max America in the 2200’s. The Southwest has succumbed to desertification from climate change. Peak oil peaked centuries ago. The US was too late to transition to the post oil age. What’s left of us compile hand-cranked vehicles from ancient industrial scraps.

To get around in the 23rd century, we would put together the kind of mutant makeshift creations you see at Burning Man. Simple tech vehicles for a Mad Max future.

Read more of this story »

Army’s Desert Tortoise Translocation Plans Successfully Halted

Rhishja Larson — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:53:31 +0000

The Army’s proposal to move 1,000 desert tortoises has been placed on hold by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, amid concerns over the Army’s previous plan that resulted in the death of 252 out of 600 tortoises.

The Center for Biological Diversity announced that a plan by the Army to move over 1,000 federally and state-listed threatened desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) from their Fort Irwin habitat to Bureau of Land Management lands has successfully been halted.

Read more of this story »

50% Chance Colorado River Reservoirs Will Run Dry by 2057 — Under Current Scenario

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:56:04 +0000

A new study finds that there is a 50-50 chance all of the Colorado River reservoirs — in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona — will run completely dry by the year 2057 if currents trends and practices continue.

Read more of this story »

Bi-Partisan Legislation Looks to Ignite the Natural Gas Engine

Ruedigar Matthes — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:01:50 +0000

Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) have sponsored the NAT GAS Act. This bill is aimed at giving natural gas the push it needs to become part of the cure for America’s oil addiction. Senator Reid (D-Nevada) is also an original co-sponsor.

“Each day, our nation consumes about 21 million barrels of oil- more than 25 percent of the world’s oil supply,” Reid said. And most of that oil comes from foreign soil. “With only 3 percent of the world’s oil reserves, we cannot produce our way to a safe and secure energy future,” Reid continued.

The new legislation would promote the use of natural gas over traditional oil by using tax credits. This legislation would, in effect, be an extension of the CLEAR Act - encouraging the growth of natural-gas infrastructures to go along with the current boom in hybrid-electric vehicles.

Read more of this story »

Nevada Casino Becomes First of Its Kind to Install EV Charge Station

Ruedigar Matthes — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:28:23 +0000

The Rampart Casino in Summerlin, Nevada, has taken the first steps toward a more Electric Vehicle (EV) friendly community. With the installation of an EV charging station, the Rampart became the first casino property to accommodate EVs, whose charge station was acquired in a business deal with Coulomb Technolgies.

If you build it, they will come…or not. Since the addition of the EV charge station, the Rampart Casino has seen limited numbers of Electric Vehicles. Very limited.

“We only have one patron with an electric car, that I know of,” said John Shaughnessy, a casino security guard. “Actually, I’ve never seen it.”

David Garth, a valet for the casino since 1999, confirmed Shaughnessy’s statement, saying that he’s never seen an EV pull up. “But,” he said, “we get plenty of hybrids.”

Read more of this story »

Drilling and Mining Endangers Western Water Supply

Becky Striepe — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:00:21 +0000

One in 12 American’s water supply comes from the Colorado River. Increased mining and drilling for oil, natural gas, and uranium on its shores is threatening that supply.

[Creative Commons photo by Wolfgang Staudt]

The areas along the river are already suffering from drought, and getting at the resources there uses and pollutes the precious remaining water. Research at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography estimates that the river could dry up in as little as 13 years.

Read more of this story »

Coffee Could Fuel More Than Just Your Morning

Becky Striepe — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:00:42 +0000

[Creative Commons photo by Ahmed Rabea]

University of Nevada, Reno researchers discovered that used coffee grounds can be successfully converted into biodiesel for powering cars and trucks. The fuel even smells like coffee! Not only does this new process have the potential to keep all of those coffee grounds out of the trash, researchers Mano Misra, Susanta Mohapatra, and Narasimharao Kondamudi say that coffee-based biofuel is more stable, due to coffee’s high antioxidant content.

Read more of this story »

Biodiesel Powered Plane Makes History With First Flight Across US

Andrew Williams — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:57:35 +0000

Earlier this month, pilots Carol Sugars and Douglas Rodante made history by becoming the first flight-crew to successfully fly across the US in a plane predominantly powered by biodiesel.

Of the total 2,486 miles flown from Reno, Nevada to Leesburg, Florida, 1,776 miles were 100% biodiesel-powered. The remaining 710 miles were powered by a 50/50 mix of biodiesel and standard jet fuel.

Read more of this story »

Keep Glass Out of Recycling Bins … and In Your Walls

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:50:35 +0000

My interest was recently piqued by an article at Inhabitat about a temple in Thailand built from one million — yes, that’s right: one million — used glass bottles. Building with glass sounds so intriguing, but does it really make sense?

A little online snooping helped deliver the answer: it sure does.

Read more of this story »

Nuclear Waste at Yucca Mtn. Clears Another Hurdle

Timothy B. Hurst — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:16:47 +0000

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established final radiation standards for the proposed spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste disposal facility at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

The EPA has determined that the final standards (pdf) for the planned Yucca Mountain high-level waste disposal facility are “fully protective of human health” and the repository will not be allowed to open unless it meets these requirements. >>More on Yucca Mountain at Green Options

Bipartisan opposition to EPA decision

The Las Vegas Sun reports Nevada’s two senators blasted the proposed rules for radiation protection because they were based on flawed science that put millions of people at risk. In a show of a state-based bipartisan solidarity both Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) quickly reacted to the decision.

Read more of this story »

‘Walk This Way’ Week: How Pedestrian-Friendly is Your Town?

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:24:41 +0000

By now, we all know it’s cheaper — and more environmentally friendly — to walk or bike to places than to drive a car or SUV. But is the low-cost, low-impact way always feasible in the motor-happy, open-freeway-obsessed U.S. of A.? That’s what we’ll be exploring this week at EcoLocalizer in a feature we’re calling “Walk This Way.”

The question of whether to walk, bike or take public transportation is a no-brainer if you live in a city like New York, where driving can often be more of a pain than a pleasure. But what about the rest of the country? Not every community is large enough or dense enough to offer the auto alternatives the Big Apple does. And what about people who live in rural areas where everything is a half-hour’s drive away or more? Can we refashion our country’s way of getting around to be more European? Or are those of us in unwalkable communities doomed to either move elsewhere or live like so many billions do in the rest of the world, consigned to life in a radius of space measured in only a few miles?

Read more of this story »

Solar Energy Creating Economic Boom for Nevada

Sarah Lozanova — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:47:22 +0000

The American Southwest has some of the best solar resources on the globe. Nevada, with abundant land and sunshine is becoming a hot bed for the solar industry. The result is green jobs and billions of investment dollars.

Solar Panel Manufacturing

The opening of Ausra’s solar thermal power factory earlier this week in Las Vegas is a prime example. As the largest plant of its kind in the world, it employs 50 factory workers. At full capacity, the plant can generate 700 MW of solar panels, which could produce enough power for 500,000 homes. This quantity of panels would create an estimated 1,400 solar plant construction jobs.

The factory will produce giant mirrors and absorber tubes that are used for solar power plants. This technology uses the sun to generate heat and spin turbines, thus creating electricity. The giant mirrors follow the sun and reflect it onto fixed absorber tubes that are mounted above.

“Nevada is poised to be a leader in the clean energy revolution,” said U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). “This facility will help position our state as the premiere place to invest in these new technologies. As the factory expands operations and we continue to invest in clean energy, we’ll create thousands of good-paying jobs and keep our outdoors pristine for future generations.”
Read more of this story »

Is The Colorado River Becoming Radioactive from Upstream Uranium Mines?

Max Lindberg — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:41:49 +0000

It All Depends On Who You Ask

Las Vegas Water Offical Warns Radioactive Levels Rising

Sunday’s news was a bit disconcerting, when I read a small story at Tri-State Online. Pat Mulroy, head of the Southern Nevada Water Authority was quoted as saying measurable quantities of uranium are showing up in Colorado River water, something difficult and expensive to remove before passing it on to consumers in Las Vegas.

She blames upstream uranium mining, especially in the Moab, Utah area, so I decided to take a look and see what’s happening up there.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no operating uranium mines in or near Moab, UT, or anywhere in the state of Utah. So, I felt Ms. Mulroy was referring to the uranium mill tailings just outside Moab, where they’ve been for decades after the failure of the Atlas Minerals Corporation mill.

Read more of this story »

DOE Files Application To Build Nuclear Repository.

Max Lindberg — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:59:37 +0000

As promised in a podcast interview on February 11th,
Edward Sproat, manager of the Yucca Mountain project in Nevada, filed a license application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to construct a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

Read more of this story »

Alaska, Southwest to Feel Greatest Climate Change Pain in U.S.

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Thu, 29 May 2008 19:33:15 +0000

Years of legal wrangling have finally produced a long-awaited report on the current and potential effects of climate change on the U.S. And it should come as no surprise that regions already hurting — Alaska and the arid Southwest — are among the areas expected to feel the greatest pain from continued climate change in the future.

The report, Scientific Assessment of the Effects of Global Change on the United States, was released today by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. According to the Government Accountability Project, the study was “years overdue under a requirement of law” and was prepared only after a federal court order last year set a release deadline of May 31, 2008.

Among the report’s highlights (or lowlights, depending on your perspective):

Read more of this story »

Sustainability on the Slopes: Kirkwood Ski Resort

Keith Rockmael — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 16:20:09 +0000

Even though the calendar displays spring, a lot of us aren’t ready to hit the beach just yet. In fact, we’re still hitting the slopes. Is it possible to think sustainably when we strap on our bindings? There’s no way around the fact that snowboarding and skiing (much like golf) aren’t sustainable but the world just can’t wipe out all the ski resorts. So we decided to check out the sustainability of some resorts.

Kirkwood, sits in a remote area of South Lake Tahoe, where people like the no-frills, laid back atmosphere but about their sustainability? To their credit their recently implemented a carpool network (the first in the region) that allows members to connect with other like-minded skiers and riders. Kirkwood’s “K-pool” saved about 13% in driven vehicles during one of their busiest days and takes hundred of cars off the road each week. Other resorts have picked up on the idea and will implement a similar system next season.

The fact that Kirkwood sits outside any regional power grid offers energy challenges. Thankfully, they haven’t resorted to purchasing those not so green RECs; instead they purchase a small amount of energy directly from local homeowners’ solar panels. Unfortunately, they must rely heavily on diesel (and even though they have purchased more efficient Tier 2 Engines) they still remain diesel based. The thought of all that diesel doesn’t exactly make us warm and fuzzy.

Kirkwood put together a comprehensive recycling program but we would like to see something more out of the box. Maybe they can add some alt fueled snowcats or the like. We understand that biodiesal freezes at around five degrees so maybe there is some other solution. And even though the resort region contains relatively few condos and commercial structures, the new ones currently being constructed lack any Green focus (such as LEED or Green Point Rated). It’s not much to ask to swap out the bathroom paper towels and urinals for the much greener XLerator Electric Hand Dryer and McDry Non-Water-Using Urinal options.

We like most of the blue slopes as well as some choice black diamond runs but Kirkwood needs to catch up with us as their sustainability effort currently resides on the bunny slopes.
Image: Whymcycles

Good old American ingenuity would not be dead.
Image: David Cushing

Pedal power would be our primary means of transportation.
Image: Whymcycles

We would remember the good ol’ days of the 20th century SUV, nostalgically making new ones to run on just human power.

Image: Whymcycles

Even quite large vehicles could be hand-rolled across our encroaching deserts, moving toddlers and the ancient along comfortably in a Ferris Wheel type of arrangement like this design from the 2009 Burning Man.

Image: Princess Diablo

Improvising ways to keep off the sun would be important, while staying cool. Textile production was possible in ancient Egypt, so we’d find the old ways again.
Image: Flikr user Princess Diablo

But all would not be gritty and serious. We would commemorate species that had become extinct in the 20th and 21st centuries; in whimsical designs like this.
Image: Waldemar Horwa

We might surprise our 21st century selves with our ingenuity in making such low tech scraped-together contraptions. Using simple techniques they might even be able to…
Image: Waldemar Horwa

…light up at night.
Image: Avi Ostfeld

My favorite would be this one. The elegant proportions are so reminiscent of that ancient 21st century French EV - Venturi’s Eclectic. The first off-the-drawing-board version. You remember it.

Source: Flikr Burning Man Mutant Vehicles

Wal-Mart Unveils High-Efficiency Supercenter

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:20:30 +0000

Not one to ever stay out of the news for one reason or another, Wal-Mart this week unveiled what it calls its most energy-efficient U.S. store yet: the HE.5 prototype.

The store, located in Las Vegas, is said to use up to 45 percent less energy than your basic Supercenter. It’s also designed specifically for the Southwest’s typical climate conditions.

Read more of this story »

Acciona Dedicates US’ First New Concentrating Solar Plant in 16 Years

Timothy B. Hurst — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:17:01 +0000

Las Vegas, Nevada - The current period of sustained growth in the American Southwest is putting tremendous demands on important resources like water, wildlife habitat, and, with the light beaming from the top of Las Vegas’ Luxor Hotel as a reminder, electricity. Nevada currently gets about 90% of its electricity from fossil fuels, and the majority source fuel is natural gas.

As natural gas prices are predicted to rise, a debate is stirring about whether the state needs to build new coal-fire power plants to meet current needs, or whether it should tap its renewable resource potential. For that reason, Acciona Energy could not have picked a better time than today to dedicate their new 64 MW concentrating solar power plant (CSP) in Boulder City, Nevada, less than thirty miles from the Las Vegas strip. And with a star-studded collection of speakers like Ed Begley Jr., NASA astronaut Dr. Sally Ride, and Apple co-founder and tech whiz Steve Wozniak, the Spanish-based Acciona dedicated the facility in true Las Vegas style.

The 300-acre site in Boulder City uses parabolic trough collectors to generate electricity. The 760 mirrored troughs track the movement of the sun’s path, and their 184,000 mirrors face the sky and concentrate the sunlight to a large metal and glass receiver in the middle of the trough that holds circulating oil. The oil travels to heat exchangers, which heat water and create steam that spins a turbine. Seems simple enough, right? Continued…

At 64 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity, Nevada Solar One is the largest CSP plant to be built in 16 years and it makes Nevada the largest per capita producer of solar power in the country. After roughly a decade of little growth for the industry, CSP is coming back strong, as is further evidenced by today’s announcement by Abengoa Solar that they will be building a 280 MW concentrating solar facility in Arizona.

The absence of any new CSP over the last 16 years leaves many people scratching their heads and asking themselves, why? There were some 354 MW of parabolic trough collectors installed in California’s Mojave Desert between 1984 and 1990. And those plants are still in operation, currently producing energy at around $0.12-$0.14/ per kilowatt-hour (kWh). The Nevada Solar One plant will produce electricity at around $0.15-$0.17/kWh.

Just by looking at the National Renewable Energy Labs CSP solar resource map, you might surmise that the US desert southwest has the potential to be the Saudi Arabia of solar resources (although I suppose Saudi Arabia could also be considered the Saudi Arabia of solar resources). However, the federal government must take the lead and adopt policies and incentives that can provide the necessary investment security for companies like Acciona, and Abengoa, to continue their renewable energy development in the American Southwest. And who knows, maybe even an American company or two can get in on a little of this some day. Wouldn’t that be something?

Photo: Tinou Bau via flickr

Map: National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s TroughNet