Nevada Creates State Energy Commissioner, Renews Energy Tax Abatements

As the Nevada Legislature concluded its biennial session last week, Gov. Jim Gibbons signed several bills relating to renewable energy. In particular, SB 358 creates the position of Nevada Energy Commissionerwith responsibilities - among other duties - to review policies related to the R&D of geothermal energy in Nevada and to work with renewable energy developers in identifying suitable sites for their needs. As the Associated Press reported in their coverage of the bill's passage, the process of attaining land in Nevada is sometimes a cumbersome process because 86 percent of the state is controlled by the federal government.

The signed AB 522 also sets the duties of this new position, allowing the Energy Commissioner to grant abatements of property and local sales and use taxes for up to a 40-year period for facilities that generate, process, or transmit renewable energy. This bill additionally renews tax abatements for renewable energy that were going to expire in July.

Gov. Gibbons also signed SB 152, which steers federal stimulus dollars from the 2009 Recovery Act to training programs in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy, especially in the areas of energy retrofit operations and performing energy audits. Departments within state government will contract with nonprofit organizations to provide training in addition to apprenticeship programs.