NV Energy hits renewable target for first time

State regulators have certified that NV Energy Inc., Nevada's largest electric utility, has for the first time met its requirement that 9 percent of the power it produces be generated using renewable resources.

Both of the company's subsidiaries - formerly Nevada Power Company based in Reno and formerly Nevada Power Company based in Las Vegas - complied with the law state legislators passed in 2001 mandating the use of solar, geothermal, wind and other renewable sources, the Public Utility Commission said Wednesday.

The 9 percent of renewable power represents about 2.7 million megawatt hours, the commission said. NV Energy spokesman Karl Walquist said that's enough to power more than 200,000 Nevada homes for a year.

Nevada's Renewable Portfolio Standard was one of the first laws in the nation mandating use of renewables. It requires an increasing percentage of their use in the coming years until they reach a minimum of 20 percent in 2015.

The legislature currently is considering proposals that would push the percentages even higher.

Nevada utilities have had difficulty meeting the standard in past years because there could not purchase sufficient renewable sources or could not build their own fast enough to meet the law.

The commission decided against fining the NV Energy's subsidiaries in past years after they entered an agreement to step up production. Last year, the panel said they had they both made "a good-faith effort" to meet the solar standard through contracts that will enable them to get solar power from the new Nevada Solar One project at Boulder City and the new Solar Star project at Nellis Air Force Base.

Together, the two projects added nearly 79 megawatts in solar-generation capacity for Nevada in 2007.