News that MGM Resorts International is supporting legislation to gradually increase the amount of electricity Nevada uses from renewable energy sources was cheered by progressive environmental groups.
If Assembly Bill 206 gains traction in the final weeks of the 2017 state Legislature and is signed into law, it will mandate that Nevada reach 50-percent renewable use by 2030. That’s a gradual but dramatic increase from the current 20 percent figure. MGM, you may recall, decided to opt out of the NV Energy grid and broker its own electricity deals. It may seem like a lot of effort, but it’s important to remember that the company employs more than 20,000 people and operates some of the largest hotel resorts in the world. The MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, New York New York, Luxor, Excalibur, and Circus are big energy consumers.
Whatever its long-term strategy, the company’s decision puts it in good stead with environmental and renewable energy support groups such as RenewNV, whose spokesman Launce Rake positively burst buttons over the news. In a press missive, Rake called the company’s decision “a huge win for clean energy advocates” and evidence that is “signaling that committing to renewables is good for business.”
That remains to be seen. Renewable energy generation’s cost has dropped steadily in recent years, but it’s still considered pricier than traditional resources. (If you don’t count the environmental and health costs created by coal, oil, and natural gas.)
The gaming industry has its environmental success stories. Some newer casinos have won LEED green building certification. Others crow about their water conservation and recycling programs. Still more generate piles of press releases for everything from recycling soap to sending leftovers to an area pig farm.
Many individual operators have improved their environmental sensitivity over the years, in no small part because it can make excellent business sense. Saving water saves money — and sends the right message to millions of tourists. But one should never expect an industry wildly successful at marketing hedonism to the masses to spend a lot of time talking about how environmentally sensitive it is.
The MGM’s decision isn’t likely to be shared by a majority of operations. The Nevada Resort Association has already announced its opposition to the bill.
That begs an interesting political question, since MGM is part of the NRA, but it shouldn’t be a deal breaker given the previously expressed interest of other major gaming industry players like Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts in exiting NVEnergy.
But other substantial Nevada players like Barrick USA, Valley Electric, Unilever and others, are voicing support for AB 206 and its vision of Nevada as a dry land that’s surprisingly green.
The decision to embrace the increased renewable standards bill was in turn embraced by other environmental groups who make up a loose coalition of supporters of a new, greener Nevada that makes best use of its abundant solar, wind, and geothermal energy resources.
“Once again MGM is showing why they are a leader in the development and support of clean energy and our economy here in Nevada,” Nevada Conservation League Executive Director Andy Maggi said in Rake’s celebratory news release. “It is very exciting and positive that they recognize the importance of a strong, dynamic renewable standard for our state.”
The Nevada Clean Energy Project’s Jennifer Taylor enthused, “A strong renewable standard contributes to a vibrant, healthy economy, and it is great to see companies like MGM, Valley Electric and Barrick recognize and support the clean energy economy.”
The legislation proposed by freshman Assemblyman Chris Brooks, D-Las Vegas, is no surprise coming from a former board member of the Nevada Conservation League. More than that, and the fact he was elected in an extremely safe district for a Democrat, Brooks is a fourth-generation Nevadan who is an energy consultant and expresses a great love of his home state.
MGM’s view on renewable energy may not be in the majority in the gaming industry yet, but in a 2017 Legislature dominated by the Democratic Party, Brooks’ push for increased green electricity standards is sure to be heard.
In the long run, MGM just might find itself on the right side of history.
John L. Smith is a longtime Las Vegas journalist and author. Contact him at jlnevadasmith@gmail.com. On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith.
