RENO, Nev. (AP) - The only affordable way to construct transmission lines necessary to utilize Nevada's geothermal and wind power is to build coal-fired power plants, Sen. John Ensign said Thursday.
And the Nevada Republican said he's determined to make that happen -- without circumventing existing environmental laws -- despite intense opposition from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Reid has vowed to do 'everything I can' to stop the proposed construction of three coal-fired plants, two near Ely and a third near Mesquite. The Democratic leader went on to say at a renewable energy conference he hosted earlier this month in Reno that the threat of global warming should preclude the construction of new coal-fired power plants anywhere in the world.
'We've talked about it. We disagree about it,' Ensign told The Associated Press on Thursday.
'He doesn't criticize me for my position and I don't criticize him for his position, but we strongly disagree on this,' he said.
Ensign made the comments Thursday after touring a geothermal plant on the south edge of Reno. He said northern Nevada has more geothermal energy than it can possibly use locally and the same holds true for eastern Nevada's wind power.
'It is critical we have transmission lines between the east and the north and the south. We can bring wind power from the east, solar from south to north, and geothermal from north to south,' Ensign said.
'It will make our power supply very stable,' he said.
Industry leaders say the biggest obstacles to utilizing renewable energy are a lack of transmission capability, the region's mountainous terrain, major upfront expenses and an extensive environmental review process.
Ensign said the transmission hurdle can be overcome with the addition of the coal plants.
'For just the wind energy, it is cost prohibitive. And to bring the geothermal to the south, the cost is prohibitive. But if you combine those with the coal-fired plants, it justifies the cost,' he said.
'Without those transmission lines by the coal plants, we can never get the geothermal energy to the south.'
Reid said the Ely-area projects alone would require millions of tons of coal a year that in turn would generate millions of tons of pollution.
But Ensign said construction of the coal plants -- combined with increased use of geothermal, wind and solar power -- ultimately will reduce air pollution.
'The public needs to become educated on the complete picture, how the coal plants will actually make us become cleaner in the future,' Ensign said.
'We need to get a lot of geothermal to southern Nevada to make it less dependent on fossil fuels. Also, the coal plants will allow us to close some of the dirty coal plants in southern Nevada. That's why I think all this fits together.'
Ensign said as the public learns more about the situation he believes it will support construction of the coal plants in White Pine County.
'We need to make sure that the environmental laws are followed and that they aren't circumvented. If the environmental laws are followed, I think those clean coal plants will be approved. But we should not circumvent the environmental laws based on politics.'
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© 2007 AFX News
