Experts: Nevada could be energy powerhouse

Steve Olson, the president and CFO of ElectraTherm, a Reno company that develops waste heat-to-energy converters, said business is picking up for the 5-year-old company, including a recent $982,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

"This has been a long development process," Olson said. "In the early years there wasn't a lot of capital to put to work."

Olson was among three local renewable energy experts who addressed the Northern Nevada Development Authority breakfast meeting Thursday morning inside the Carson Nugget.

Along with Olson, Jim Groth of the Nevada State Office of Energy and Roger Jacobson of the Desert Research Institute told the audience that the market for renewable energy in Northern Nevada is primed for growth during the next decade, but will take significant public and private investment to make it a reality.

Groth said the next legislative session should prove to be a boon to the renewable energy market, saying there is "a real moon and stars alignment with a pro-business environment."

He noted a number of solar installation projects happening around the state, including the nearly completed 1.4 megawatt solar panel system at Carson City's National Guard center. Other projects are being partially funded with federal stimulus dollars through a revolving loan program through the energy office and private business investments.

But the larger goal of increasing Nevada's reliance on renewable energy - expected to be more than 12 percent by 2025 combined with energy efficiency improvements - still has a ways to go.

"Our problems are not as much of a science and technology than one of changing the collective will," Groth said, adding he believes with the right investments and state policies that renewable energy could become a significant portion of Nevada's tax base within 10 years.

"We have great, great potential," Groth said.

Jacobson, the vice president for academic affairs for DRI, detailed an experimental "Zero Energy Home" the research center plans to open early next year.

The 1,600-square-foot house will feature solar and wind energy as well as energy-efficient mechanisms such as batteries and heat storing units to eliminate dependence on fossil fuels, coal and natural gas.

He said this is part of a larger issue facing the United States: How to move the country from a centralized energy system to a decentralized one powered by renewable sources such as wind, solar, geothermal and biomass.

He said homeowners also can reduce their energy intake by living in smaller homes, closing unused rooms, covering windows with thermal blankets, using energy efficient appliances, sealing the home with caulk and modifying behavior by using a clothes line instead of a dryer.

Better energy conservation also would come from a smarter electrical grid that would use digital information to more accurately control intake, but will depend on policy makers, businesses, advocacy groups and regulators to make a reality.

"It's going to be very exciting," he said.

ElectraTherm, which was founded in Carson City, now employs 37 people and has sold 11 of its units that usually come with a six-figure price tag. They are now operating out of a 40,000-square-foot plant in Reno after moving out of its Mound House production facility earlier this year.

Olson, a former investment banker, said two years ago he became the company's fourth employee, adding the experience has been both rewarding and risky.

"It's really satisfying when it works," he said.