Environmentalists oppose Question 3. Question 3 supports Question 6. Question 6 is supporting, well, Question 6.
Sorry, no flow chart yet.
The Sierra Club, Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Western Resources Advocates issued a joint statement Thursday opposing Question 3, which would amend the Nevada constitution to allow customers to buy electricity on the open market. Large electricity users are particularly keen to see Question 3 pass, and a lavishly funded campaign to that effect is bankrolled in large part by Las Vegas Sands and Switch.
“If Question 3 passes, it will upend the clean energy progress we’re making here in Nevada,” said Anne Macquarie with the Sierra Club. “Right now, NV Energy has big plans for new solar infrastructure, and the rooftop solar market is quickly recovering, but that may all change. The uncertainty of a deregulated market threatens all of Nevada’s clean energy momentum, and that’s bad for jobs, it’s bad for public health, and it’s bad for clean air and water.”
Meantime, Yes on 3 earlier this week announced its support of Question 6 ballot measure, which would require all Nevada electric service providers to generate or acquire at least half their power from renewable sources by 2030.
“The Energy Choice Initiative is about providing Nevadans clean energy at lower rates through competition and innovation,” said Scot Rutledge, spokesperson for Yes on 3. “The combination of a 50 percent clean energy standard along with energy choice will make Nevada a leader in clean energy investments and reducing carbon emissions.”
Nevadans for a Clean Energy Future, or the Yes on 6 campaign, issued a statement responding to the endorsement from Yes on 3. The endorsement was not exactly reciprocated.
“Nevadans overwhelmingly support renewable energy because they know it means cleaner air, healthier families, lower costs, and more jobs,” said Katie Robbins, campaign manager of Nevadans for a Clean Energy Future. “No matter what the energy market looks like after November, Question 6 is the only measure that guarantees Nevada will get at least 50 percent of our energy from renewable sources by 2030. So it’s no surprise that it has supporters on both sides of Question 3.”
Voters will decide on both ballot questions in November.
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