A new report by a nascent pro-clean energy coalition credits government mandates and corporate enthusiasm for helping drive down the price of solar and other types of renewable energy in Nevada and across the country.

The report, which was authored by Clean Energy Project Director Karen Wayland, states that Nevada is in a prime position to “lead” in renewable development thanks to its early adoption of a Renewable Portfolio Standard, corporate enthusiasm for renewable energy, and abundant opportunities for geothermal and solar development.

The report comes from a new group called Clean Energy Works for Nevada, which spokeswoman Phoebe Sweet said was composed of local businesses, pro-renewable energy advocates and national clean energy organizations such as the Solar Industry Energy Association. Sweet said NV Energy is not a part of the coalition.

Although Nevada’s current fuel mix is 72 percent natural gas, the report stated that the falling price of renewable energy was already having a significant effect on what fuel types the state uses to produce electricity. Between June 2017 to June 2018, Nevada saw a 14.7 percent increase in renewable generation, an 8.4 percent increase in hydropower and a 25.1 percent decrease in coal-fired generation.

The report also predicted the cost of renewable energy would fall below the price of fossil fuels by 2020 and credited NV Energy for including 1,001 planned new megawatts of large-scale solar and no new natural gas plants in its triennial Integrated Resource Plan submitted earlier this year. Analysts say solar projects included in the plan have some of the lowest priced contracts in the country.

Although one of the factors that drove renewable prices downward — federal incentives — are set to expire around the end of the decade, Wayland wrote that continued renewable development inspired investors and helped stabilize and lower the price of hardware, keeping the overall costs competitive with other types of energy generation.

“More developers means more competition, leading to more competitive bids for projects, and the benefits of competition even extend to the supply chain,” she wrote.

The report also said much of the demand for new renewables is coming from corporate interests and cited as evidence large-scale plans for solar projects announced by Wynn Resorts, MGM Resorts, Switch and Tesla.

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