Vol. 4, No. 22       September 15, 2007

Letters We Get

The Prairie Mail Box, by Rufus Zogbaum (1887)

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Wind and Oil

Editor, The Nevada Observer,

Senator Ensign’s deceptive assertion that transmission lines built for proposed White Pine power plants would be necessary for wind energy to reach Clark County is erroneous.  He makes the assumption that wind power must come from White Pine, 250 miles north, requiring huge expense building lines over mountain ranges, and ignores the extensive areas with good wind potential within 60 miles of Las Vegas, along valleys opening into the metropolis.  The transmission losses and construction costs from Ely far outweigh the slightly lower wind values in Clark County.  View map in Wind Energy Resource Atlas of US showing feasible wind areas rated 3-7 at http://rredc.nrel.gov/wind/pubs/atlas/maps/chap3/3-56m.html.

Nor does Ensign consider the huge amount of oil necessary to transport millions of tons of coal from Wyoming annually.  Should the power plants be built, Ensign and supporters should bear the burden of guilt for more lives lost in Iraq over Bush’s war for oil, while energy independence is attainable through renewable energy utilization.  The price of renewable facilities will drop as more are constructed.

Name withheld at writer's request.

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