The Setting

ddouk, "Sunset Sea Sun Birds Twilight" 08/02/13 via pixabay

Public Domain Dedication License

A vast, flat expanse of sand stretches out over the Nevadan horizon. Here, 163 watts of power will be radiated from the Sun onto each square meter of land every day. When you have a region 286 billion square meters in area, that totals up to be quite a lot. This is why the area is so attractive to the solar energy business, it is a clean resource just begging to be harnessed.

This frontier is not just empty space, however. Casinos tower over the urban oases throughout the desert. A city constantly alight needs power to keep the electricity alive. Therefore, they need an energy provider. In an area as wide as this one, its conditions have allowed NV Energy to gain a near monopoly on utility distribution. NV Energy has not yet tapped in to Nevada’s solar capabilities, instead choosing to rely on fossil fuels. Nevada’s potential for the solar industry has not been lost on companies such as SolarCity. Entering the Nevada arena in 2014, SolarCity wasted no time in helping mainly South Nevadans harness the power of the sun.

Now, traditional utilities and solar power go head to head in Las Vegas, where the Public Utilities Commission grapples with solar residents over who should shoulder the costs incurred to the grid by solar energy.