The last time a coal-fired power plant was proposed for Nevada, it was scuttled when California said it didn’t want dirty energy.  Now two large plants are being planned for the economically depressed town of Ely, about 300 miles east of Reno, for in-state use.
 
Proponents say the plants are needed and that new technology will make them cleaner, but Lydia Ball of the Sierra Club says building them would be a mistake.
 
Getting a coal-fired power plant that will be here for at least 50 years isn’t the direction we should be going.  I understand that they need to meet energy demand and I would rather them focus more on getting renewable projects in the State of Nevada.
 
Ball says Nevada has no coal deposits, but does have an abundance of sun, wind and geothermal activity.  Nevada requires its utilities to get 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020.