Nevada State Senator Bob Coffin (D-Las Vegas) wants to repeal a law that states, quite logically, that burning tires for electricity does not constitute renewable energy except in limited circumstances. Coffin believes the existing law hinders other technologies from developing and wants it rewritten to say “any system that involves creating electricity from tires” is renewable. Sounds like he took a page from President Bush’s playbook that declared nuclear power is “a renewable source of energy.”

Senator Coffin wants to count tire burning towards Nevada’s standards for renewable energy production. The state has a Renewable Energy Standard requiring all Nevada investor-owned utilities to get 15 percent of their energy from renewables by the year 2013.

Here enters commonsense: the Republican Senator from Henderson, Joseph Heck, points out that the bill doesn’t prevent the most destructive forms of tire burning from happening. For example, open burning of tires releases known carcinogens, among other nasty pollution problems, and could count as renewable energy with the change in the law.

The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee will vote on the bill at a later hearing.

In addition to renewable tire burning, the Committee heard other bills last week that included exempting co-ops, nonprofits, and renewable energy systems from state environmental review laws. The Committee approved that bill, despite opposition from state regulators and the Nevada Conservation league who argued it creates loopholes that would allow for a utility plant built on private land to sidestep the permitting process.

Sounds like Nevada senators have their hands full, hopefully closing up all the loopholes others are trying to tear open. This is a lesson for all of us: Good laws that encourage a clean, renewable energy system still have to be protected and safeguarded from those wed to the dirty way of doing things. Make sure your elected officials know you’re keeping an eye on them.

Associated Press
Energy Bulletin
Western Resource Advocates