Renewables will demand global links

Mike Skaggs firmly believes Nevada's renewable resources will prove to be one of the great historic drivers of the state's economy, similar to the mines and legalized gambling that have powered the economy in the past.

And Skaggs, executive director of the Nevada Commission on Economic Development, just as firmly believes that development of the industry will more closely knit Nevada into the world's economy.

The state's renewable resources geothermal, solar, wind, even a little hydro have been well documented.

But to bring those resources into production, Skaggs says, likely will require investment by Europeans and Asians to finance equipment manufactured by European companies.

The story already is taking shape:

* Enel, an Italian company that's the second-largest utility in Europe, recently completed two good-sized geothermal plants in Churchill County.

* Sierra Nevada Corp., the Sparks-based aerospace and defense contractor, teamed with a unit of Spain's Corporacion Gestamp to launch development of photovoltaic projects.

* NV Energy partnered with Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc., the American arm of a British company, to develop a 200-megawatt wind farm at China Mountain in northeast Nevada.

While American companies are moving quickly to develop renewable-energy technology, Skaggs says European companies have a long head start.

And Nevada officials want to woo even more European investment in the state's renewable resources with a trade mission next spring that will target manufacturers and investors in Spain and Germany.

It's possible that more capital to finance the renewable-energy business in Nevada will come from China and other Asian nations.

In September, Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki inked an agreement with a Chinese delegation that opens the door for increased investment in Nevada.

And a Chinese delegation heard investment pitches from a couple of companies with headquarters in northern Nevada ElectraTherm of Carson City and Roadrunner Solar of Reno during that September visit.

Already, about a third of the projects in the pipeline for the Commission on Economic Development involve renewable energy in some way, says Ken Pierson, deputy director of the agency.

Skaggs says, however, that state economic officials view global investment into the development of Nevada's renewable resources as just a starting point.

They also hope to convince manufacturers to build plants particularly solar-panel plants close to the places where the equipment will be installed.

And once manufacturing is established, Nevada hopes to woo headquarters and research operations with their high-skill, high-paying jobs.

"That's the prize," Skaggs says. "We're not after a segment. We're after the whole thing."

The effort to attract renewable research facilities will get a boost from the presence of the basic research at the University of Nevada, Reno, and the applied research that's under way at the Desert Research Institute.

But Skaggs suggests creation of an institute similar to the mining-oriented Mackay School at UNR to train a skilled workforce and spearhead research for renewable energy.

"We can have a mining school. Let's have a renewables school and get with it," he says.

State officials are particularly heartened by the benefits that the renewables industry market might bring to rural areas of the state that historically have been dependent on mining.

The Commission on Economic Development's strategic plan these days gives priority to developing global ties for the state's economy.

Part of that work will be communicating Nevada's renewable energy potential to the state's trade representatives, honorary consuls and exporters, says Al Di Stefano, director of the commission's division of global business development.