The sight of a farmers market with fresh fruits, vegetables and other items inside a Strip casino was an extraordinary first-ever experience -- and all thanks to hot TV celebrity chef Molto Mario Batali! Eggs, tomatoes and edible cactus were just inches away from slot machines and blackjack tables at the luxurious Palazzo.

Looks like all that sun finally paid off.
When Nevada enacted a 1997 mandate requiring the state's electric utilities to weave renewable energy into their tapestry of power sources, it seemed like an easy goal to meet in a state blessed with sunlight and geothermal hot spots.

Just one obstacle blocked the way...

In Las Vegas, water used indoors travels a continuous loop. From homes, water flows to a treatment plant, which sends it back to Lake Mead. Then an equivalent amount is pumped from the lake, and the 12-mile journey to treatment plants and Southern Nevada’s taps begins again. The Southern Nevada Water Authority wants that system preserved because it allows Las Vegas to consume more than its annual 300,000-acre-foot allotment from the Colorado River. Water returned to the lake converts to credits that the Water Authority can use to pump more water from the lake.

Years from now, when Nevadans wonder why their state and others abandoned coal plants in favor of renewable energy, they are likely to remember these days.

Washington is moving aggressively if sometimes in unseen ways to remake the nation’s energy landscape. Intricate pieces of legislation are unfolding on Capitol Hill that would radically alter the nation’s energy policy, one bill at a time.

NV Energy on Monday announced that it is postponing development of a $5 billion coal-fired power plant at Ely until technology for capturing and storing carbon dioxide pollution becomes commercially feasible, probably for 10 years or more...

A poll shows Nevadans of all political stripes favor renewable energy, which prompted a business and technology spokesman to say the state is in a good spot to become a green makeover mecca.