A place in the sun

NV Energy takes renewable energy seriously. Being based in Nevada, it is lucky enough to have access to some of the best solar power resources in the world. Though as John Hargrove, Program Manager, Energy Efficiency and Conservation, points out, NV Energy’s renewable programs don’t just focus on the sun: “We have three renewable energy programs – solar, wind and hydro. The solar program started in 2004 in response to state legislation that created a pilot for us to do solar rebates or photovoltaic for our customers in three separate categories: residential and small business, public buildings, and schools.”

According to Hargrove, the initial solar program, which ran for three years, was very successful – so successful that in the 2007 legislative session, the state government decided to make the program permanent, and also to add a wind and hydro component. “They did this so we that could test the waters, so to speak, on those renewable technologies,” Hargrove explains. “Those three programs, the permanent solar and the pilot wind and hydro programs, kicked off a few weeks ago.”

The main advantage to consumers of installing a solar, or photovoltaic power (PV), system is that is allows them to generate electricity right at their sites. They can then store this energy through the use of net metering. “You’re making energy at your own facility, and then through net metering you use the utility as a storage system,” Hargrove says. “This means that if you’re over-generating during the day, your electric meter in a sense turns backwards, and you build credits up so that later when you are consuming energy and not generating any ­– for example, at night or on cloudy days –you pull those credits back out of the system, and consume that power.

“It’s a pretty effective way for customers to have their own distributed generation. That’s good for the system, it’s good for society and it’s good for the utility grid. It’s pretty much good all round.”

In the past, there has been a question about the return on investment of such a system, but Hargrove says that, depending on the cost of the installation and subtracting out the rebates and tax credits that are available, the cost effectiveness has substantially improved. “The solar system has a 20- to 25-year guarantee in this state. It’s a requirement that solar panels have that long a warranty. We’re seeing paybacks in the 15- to 20-year range typically; that’s a very long payback, but it is definitely within the life of the system. So financially it’s a pretty good deal.

“The other thing to keep in mind is that people install solar panels in their homes or businesses for a variety of reasons: because they feel it’s the right thing to do, because they want to be as green as they possibly can. It’s not necessarily about money.”

Winds of change

The company’s wind rebate program is designed to help people reduce the upfront cost of installing a wind-based power generator. The program is not specific to any one type of wind generation – customers are welcome to use whatever type of generator they like, providing it’s on the list of approved equipment, as Hargrove explains, “There are two organizations in the United States that test and qualify equipment. If your piece of equipment is approved by either organization, then it’s qualified for the rebate.

“ Nevada has fairly good wind resources, especially in certain places throughout the state. Much like anywhere, wind can be very good one mile away from a place where it’s not very good. We urge people to do the right kind of testing and analysis to find out if they have a good wind resource.

“Much the same as the solar program was when we started, the wind program is a pilot, and is designed to help everybody in the state learn about the process – not only testing, but what the output of the systems are going to be, how hard it will be to get permits and regulatory approval to install, and how effective they’ll be in operation.

“We’re right on the front edge of this, and we don’t know exactly how cost-effective it is going to be, but we all have high hopes that it will be good for all involved.”

The company is planning to survey everyone who participates in its wind rebate program once a year, asking them questions about how the system operated and if they had any issues. Hargrove says the goal is to help the industry as a whole learn about the best way to run such a program. “We aim to increase this pool of knowledge not only for the demand side, meaning the buyers, but also for the supply side, meaning the contractors and the regulators – the people who put out building permits and inspect and approve the systems. We’re all trying to learn our way through this, and this program will help us do that.”

Testing the waters

NV Energy’s hydro program is also a pilot program available only to its agricultural customers, because they’re typically the only customers with moving water they can harness. The program is designed to help these customers reduce the cost of upfront installation, and again to learn the process of how hard it is to design and permit and construct and get approved these renewable installations throughout the state.

“Within one hour of opening for applications for the renewable programs, we were fully subscribed in our residential and small business category for the solar program for the year,” Hargrove enthuses. “And we were fully subscribed in public buildings in about three hours. We are over 50 percent subscribed on schools, which is the biggest category.

“These results show the high level of awareness of environmental issues that exists amongst the general public and businesses in Nevada. Nevada is number one in the United States in solar per capita, and we’re also number one in geothermal power per capita. Those statistics are quite well known throughout the state, and the programs are well known as well, because we have a lot of people who want to participate in them.”

Individual efforts

The company encourages its individual customers to become more energy efficient through a variety of programs. The company runs utilities in two areas: northern Nevada, and southern Nevada, which includes Las Vegas.

In southern Nevada, it provides air conditioning rebates to customers who upgrade their air conditioners or tune them up to make them more efficient. In northern Nevada, in the company’s natural gas service territory, which has a much colder climate, it offers rebates to help customers reduce the cost of increasing the efficiency of their furnaces. There are also energy-efficient lighting programs, where customers can go to local retailers and buy lighting at reduced prices that are paid down by the utility. And there is a cutting edge refrigerator recycling program to help people get rid of the old refrigerators in their garages that are not giving them much value.

“Provided the refrigerator is working, we’ll come and haul it away for you and pay you $30 and recycle it. We recycle over 99 percent of the material in the refrigerator itself. It’s a great environmental program. On top of that, we’re creating a new program in the next couple of months where customers will be able to donate that $30 to a local school of their choice. We expect that program to take off, because it’s a fundraiser for school districts.”

Helping nonprofit agencies fund weatherization and energy-efficient retrofit projects is another area of focus for the company. “We have a grant program to help nonprofits with energy efficiency programs. We put it out for participation once a year, the nonprofits apply to us, and then we select the ones that will be the most effective for the program. These nonprofits are then notified that they won, and we work with them to get the energy-efficiency equipment or systems installed on their facilities. Then we use the grant money to help pay or pay entirely the cost of that work.

“Rather than giving out money through our charitable foundation, we decided to go at it as an energy-efficiency program. Instead of giving them money that they then could potentially use to pay their electric bills, we decided to spend that money to help them reduce their bills upfront.”

A sure bet

The company also runs a program for commercial, business, industrial and institutional customers called Sure Bet. According to Hargrove, the program works in two ways: as a prescriptive incentive, and as a custom incentive.

“An example of a prescriptive incentive would be: if you replace a light bulb with a more energy efficient one, we will give you a certain amount of money for every bulb you replace. It’s a laundry-list or a cafeteria-style approach. If you want to replace lighting, or if you want replace a thermostat or something simple, there’s a dollars-based rebate for each one of those things.

“If what you want to do falls outside of the prescriptive list, then it becomes a custom incentive, where we will work with you or your engineers or contractors to determine the amount of energy savings that are available as a result of making a change, like building controls or a chiller. If it’s a custom incentive, we’ll do the calculations to let the customers know what the incentives will most likely be, and then we inspect it and work together with them at the end to verify that those savings are actually occurring. The incentive is then paid based on those savings. We have that same type of program for schools, and it’s very effective as well.”

Thanks in part to the efforts of companies like NV Energy, Nevada has become a leader in both renewable energy and energy efficiency. Nevada’s Renewable Portfolio Standard requires that 20% of the company’s retail sales must be from renewable sources by 2015, which is one of the highest standards in the country, and the state also has some of the most aggressive programs in the country at a state, regulatory and utility level in terms of energy efficiency and renewable energies. As Hargrove underlines, these programs are really starting to take off. “Program participation and awareness has gone up dramatically over the last weeks, months and years. We know there’s a lot more work to be done, and we’re very focused and determined to move forward.”

Which is good news for the people of Nevada, and for anyone who cares about the environment, anywhere.

John Hargrove, Program Manager of Energy Efficiency and Conservation for NV Energy, has 30 years of utility industry experience. He is responsible for managing several successful renewable energy and conservation programs statewide. Programs directed by Hargrove have won awards from industry associations and the Energy Star organization.

Solar power: it’s elementary

The Natchez Elementary School on the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe’s Reservation in Nevada is home to a new solar energy system that will generate clean, renewable electricity from the sun. The project was built by Black Rock Solar, with support from MMA Renewable Ventures and Sierra Pacific Power Company (NV Energy).

The 60-kilowatt solar power system is expected to generate 108,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, resulting in savings of approximately $360,000 over the next 25 years. Natchez Elementary School and the Washoe County School District will share the savings, with half directly supporting the school’s budget and the other half going to a special fund to support conservation efforts throughout the district.

Located west of the school on Nevada State Route 447, the 240-panel system was made possible through a combination of donated labor from Black Rock Solar, industry expertise and bridge financing from MMA Renewable Ventures, and rebates from Sierra Pacific Power as part of the SolarGenerations program. Established by the Nevada State Legislature in 2003, SolarGenerations provides rebates that amount to $5 per watt of installed solar power for schools and public buildings in Nevada. The rebate for the Natchez Elementary School project is expected to be $300,000.

What’s in a name?

Sierra Pacific Resources will assume the name NV Energy, subject to shareholder approval. The company’s two utilities, Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, are currently operating under the name NV Energy, which will change to NV Energy Inc., again subject to shareholder approval.

The new name consolidates under a single brand a company that serves a 54,500-square-mile service territory that stretches north to south from Elko to Laughlin and provides a wide range of energy services and products serving more than 2.4 million Nevadans and a state tourist population exceeding 40 million annually.

Nevada Power

Headquartered in Las Vegas, the former Nevada Power Company is the electric utility for most of southern Nevada. Established in 1906, it serves one of the fastest growing regions in the United States. The company’s service area is approximately 4,500 square miles in southern Nevada.

Service projects

• In 2007, Project REACH helped 951 seniors, 370 medically fragile persons and 1 military family with utility bill assistance.
• The company has a longstanding commitment to helping low-income customers. Since 1985, ut has provided more than $2.3 million in utility bill assistance to 22,119 households.
• Company mployees volunteered 13,010 hours of their own time to organizations throughout southern Nevada. The total dollar value for employee volunteer efforts for 2007 is estimated to be $244,197 (13,010 hours x $18.77).
• In 2007, through employee donations, corporate gifts and company fundraisers, the company donated $748,005 to United Way.

Power Sources

2007 Peak Load (MW) 5,866

Generated Power (MWh) 14,520,377 (63%)

Purchased Power (MW) 8,510,429 (37%)

Total (MWh) 23,030,806 (100%)

Sierra Pacific Power

Headquartered in Reno, the former Sierra Pacific Power is the electric utility for most of northern Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area of California. Established during the gold and silver mining boom of the 1800s, Sierra Pacific Power has an electric service territory of more than 50,000 square miles in western, central and northeastern Nevada and northeastern California. It also serves gas customers in the Reno-Sparks area.

Service projects

• In 2007, the SAFE program helped 1,720 households with $277,822 in utility bill assistance.
• Last year, company employees, retirees and their friends and families volunteered 9,380 hours. The total dollar value for employee volunteer efforts for 2007 is estimated at $176,062.60. (9,380 hours x $18.77).
• The company’s charitable foundation donated approximately $860,000 to civic, youth, arts and culture, environmental and educational organizations in 2007.
• The GreenPower program is installing solar panels on schools in northern Nevada in partnership with the Desert Research Institute.

Power sources

2007 Peak Load (MW) 1,743

Generated Power (Mwh) 4,032,002 (42.9%)

Purchased Power (Mwh) 5,376,364 (57.1)

Total (MWh) 9,408,366 (100%)