Thu, Jan 17, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Another foe of coal

Official says power plants proposed near Ely could pollute air over Great Basin park

The superintendent of the Great Basin National Park has joined those who are opposing a large coal-fired power plant project proposed near Ely.

Representing the view of Great Basin officials as well as the National Park Service, Paul DePrey penned a letter last week to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection.

DePrey said existing coal-fired power plants in Utah are thought to be responsible for haze that hangs over the Great Basin after sustained northeasterly winds. He said such winds are rare but fears that if the power project gets built near Ely, about 50 miles west of the Great Basin, the park’s visibility could be affected more frequently.

Aside from its diversity of wildlife and vegetation, the park is renowned for its clean air. The 77,000-acre park about 250 miles northeast of Las Vegas is a favorite of stargazers because its low pollution gives them clear views.

But the park’s night skies are not invulnerable. “Like a clean white page, the relatively clear air in the Great Basin can be marred easily,” DePrey wrote.

The state environmental division is gathering public comment while evaluating whether the power project would meet state and federal standards for air quality. The division has given preliminary approval for the project, which would consist of two 750-megawatt coal-fired power plants.

The project is being proposed by Sierra Pacific Resources of Reno. Nevada Power Co. of Las Vegas and Sierra Pacific Power Co. of Reno are subsidiaries of Sierra Pacific Resources.

We agree with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who is fighting not only this proposal but also ones from independent power companies that separately seek to build another large coal-fired plant in the Ely area and one near Mesquite.

Nevada’s vast potential for clean energy, such as that from geothermal and solar plants, has hardly been tapped. We should be opting for those types of plants and not plants that burn coal, whose emissions cause mercury contamination, smog, acid rain and global warming.