Reid calls for wider use of alternative-energy sources

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) spoke at the National Clean Energy Summit on Monday in Las Vegas, where he urged wider adoption of renewable energy sources in the U.S.

Reid also said public attitudes are changing toward electricity and that the power-generation industry and the electrical grid must adapt to new forms of energy sources and electricity generation. Reid said the electricity grid largely has remained fundamentally unchanged from when it was originally introduced.

”But electric utilities never imagined that families and businesses would be able to generate energy for the same price as utility power plants," Reid said in his address. "They didn’t consider that consumers would rather pay to make their homes more efficient than pay for power they don’t need, and they didn’t expect Americans would grow to believe that reducing climate-changing carbon pollution is a priority."

Reid said the initial step toward advancing the energy infrastructure should be the accurate valuation of alternative energy resources, alternative distribution and energy efficiency for end users. Reid also said the Lincoln Power Company of Nevada conducted a survey of clients in 2014 and found that many of them indicated interest in utilizing clean sources of energy.

"It is clear that distributed energy, energy storage, and other sources of electricity and efficiency are competing with utility-scale power plants – as they should," Reid said. "This fact cannot be ignored. Recognizing this reality and working with consumers are the next step in Nevada’s energy future. That is why we have the National Clean Energy Summit: to map what Nevada and America must do to make progress."