(announcer) (announcer) >>from the nation's capitol, "eye on washington with marilee joyce." a weekly discussion about the federal issues most important to nevada. and now, from washington, d.c., here's marilee joyce. >> and good day to you, i'm marilee joyce, this is "eye on

nevada news program produced in washington, d.c. every week "eye on washington" takes you straight to capitol hill for a discussion with nevada's delegation and other leaders about the federal matters that matter to you. today's topic, the solar state, the economic and environmental effects of solar energy on the state of nevada. my guest today is miss jill lagan, the president and ceo of the boulder city chamber of commerce. thank you for being here today. >> thank you. it is my pleasure. solar job growth didn't happen by accident. that's what nevada u.s. senator harry reid told the press in 2015. and today on "eye on washington," we will tell you what is happening in solar strong boulder city. we will look at where the congressional delegation members stand on solar and we will learn my guest's thoughts on what the solar industry needs most from capitol hill. well, that statement from senator reid followed news that

capita growth of solar industry jobs in the whole nation. the nonprofit solar foundation says nevada has added 3500 solar jobs since 2013. that's an increase of 146% from last year. in fact, nearly 6,000 nevadans work in the solar industry. according to solar nation, nevada leads the country in most solar panels and grids installed per capita. the organization says nevada is on track to meet its renewable portfolio standard which calls for 25% of nevada's energy to be produced via renewable energy sources by 2020 with half of that coming from residential customers. and with 5% of total renewable energy production coming from solar. well, one big source of that solar energy is right in boulder city's backyard, the city created what it called the energy zone some time ago to lease land to solar companies.

acre copper mountain solar facility. it has constructed hundreds of thousands of solar panels generating power for tens of thousands of homes and created hundreds of construction jobs not to mention thousands of jobs for solar related and solar serving industries, and, miss lagan, we have so much to get to today. it is all exciting and i remember you contacting me several years ago. when you first learned that copper mountain was coming to boulder city you were so excited to your town. and i remember saying, well, we will have to have you to d.c. sometime for a show on solar power one day, and here we are. here you are and have your predictions about its benefits for the state, are they coming true? >> i am so grateful to be here, and, yes, i'm so glad that several years ago it was just a concept. it was just something we talked about. to date, with all of the solar energy projects and some of the

billion investment in the utilities scale solar energy facilities in boulder city. that's huge. and that represents just under 16,000 jobs. 16,000 jobs with all of this construction once it is all online. >> you must feel a lot of pride when you look at your own town. people would say oh, you know, boulder city is just some small town. it is certainly not small when it comes to solar power, is it? a lot of pride seeing that all the environment. >> it truly is and i would like to take our history back a little bit. back to all of the way back to 1928. so in december of 1928, when they actually created the boulder canyon project act that was when we created the hoover dam and so we are starting with renewable energy clear back to 1928. boulder city has always been a true component to the support of what the state of nevada is all about. >> you know, it is also helping nevada meet its renewable

all of the overall energy produced via renewables has to come from solar, isn't that right? >> that's right. so we're grateful to be a component to that. grateful to be a part and looking forward to continuing that symbiotic relationship with our federal government and with our state and local officials. >> there are pluses and minuses to any issue. people who love things and people who complain about things. what comments are you getting from residents who have the solar panels, what concerns and what complaints so far and what is being said about installment costs, energy bills, et cetera? >> you know, some of the real concern is will there be somebody in the southern nevada area to service their equipment once they get it online. we know that that is part of the conversation with nevada energy right now. looking to see what they do in the future when they decide on the regulation of how it is going to move forward. but the bigger concern is mostly

you know, we purposely have a lot of land surrounding our community and that was done very thoughtfully and in that process when you look out over the el dorado valley and you see all of the panels many think at certain times when the mirrors are reflecting it is actually the lake or no longer a dry lake that it is wet. those are actually the mirrors reflecting so we do have some feedback that may not be so negative but a little bit on the down side that it is taking away from our desert landscapes that people are used to looking at. >> are you seeing more and more people get into it, that you are seeing a lot of sign-ups for the getting a panel, et cetera? >> you know, it is important to the city of boulder city to the point where they created net metering so we do have the ability to make sure that our residents have that offering to them. that's important to them, and that is important to our community. i know that that is part of the issue with the nevada area and the vegas and henderson area. >> when we return solar and the

that's coming up after this. (announcer) >>you're watching "eye on washington with marilee joyce."

>> and welcome back to "eye on washington." our discussion of the importance of solar to the state of nevada. we have been visiting with miss jill lagan, president and ceo of the boulder city chamber of commerce. we've mentioned the jobs associated with just the boulder city facility but the good news is nothing compared to the solar employment over all in the state of nevada. according to a report released last year by the solar foundation, nevada solar industry employment grew 146% in 2014. that big increase, 3500 jobs over the previous year, caused the state to rise to number 7 for solar jobs by state and to

jobs. meanwhile sure you might feel warm and fuzzy about your role in carbon dioxide reduction and helping to create a cleaner environment but let's cut to the chase, how much money do you reportedly save when you go solar, that's what you really want to know. well, solar nation says installing a solar panel would help you save as much as $36.44 a month plus you would get a 30% federal solar tax credit that allows you to claim 30% of the a tax credit and it does run out in 2022. regarding your environmental impact, solar nation says a solar panel can help offset about 100,000 pounds of car gone dioxide over its lifetime equal to the amount of carbon dioxide produced by a car driving 100,000 miles. so, miss lagan, we've shared the good news about jobs created due to the boulder city plant but

audience the huge amount of nevada jobs in general that are thanks to solar energy projects. you know, the solar energy industry association, i have here says that currently there are more than 116 solar and solar servicing companies that work throughout nevada employing 8,800 people. it just goes, doesn't it? >> you know, it is that secondary market, that domino effect so not only do you certainly have agencies that are training those that are providing the service, you've got the research and development. you've got the actual production and creation of the panels. out in boulder city we have photovoltaic and the concentrated solar power so you've got different technologies. you have the battery trying to store, learning how to store the actual energy once it is created. so there is so much more to -- it is an advanced technology but

those people who are in those markets that are creating that that are driving that and making that happen. >> and when you think of the kind of the job-crushing impact that the recession had on nevada, it is such great news, this industry, that we're seeing as nevada continues its struggle up from the recession, isn't it >> it is. not only because it is kind of a win-win. we've got the positive of drive up. we've got things moving forward but we are also reducing that carbon footprint and i think that we feel good about the things that we are doing as we improve our economy in southern nevada and in the state of nevada. >> you know, miss lagan, to construction was one of the worst hit industries in nevada during that rough time during all of those years and you've witnessed a reemergence of construction regarding the copper mountain facility and regarding solar in general, and i know for the chamber business

>> it is definitely a top priority and we've definitely seen a couple of new members come online as they are the ones out there servicing the panels but another key important thing is copper mountain and some of the other solar facilities out there they are engaged in helping our education programs, too, so at the high school they are willing to put an actual facility on top of the new high school. they are willing to train those kids so some of those kids can come out of school ready to go to work in those fields. not only in the construction efforts that they have to run on a daily basis. >> and as the cheerleader for boulder city i want to let you give a shout out. we say nevada is the solar state but i'll bet in your eyes boulder city is the solar state solar center, isn't it? >> it really is. we truly are the epicenter of that. boulder city has always had the relationship with any of the federal government and the state but this is one of the key projects that has put us on the map in the community and we do

it is pretty special and we're grateful to be a part. >> thank you. you know, we did talk all of those years ago we're going to get you out here. there she is. >> thank you. >> when we return, where does the nevada congressional delegation stand on solar?

>> welcome back to "eye on washington." oudi and what it means to nevada. we have been visiting with miss jill lagan, the president and coe of the boulder city chamber of commerce. well, let's look now at nevada's congressional delegation and what they have to say about solar. in 2015, the solar energy industry's association credited that solar employment jump i mentioned in part to pro-growth policies supported by senators harry reid and dean heller.

nevada having the fastest growing solar energy industry did not happen by accident. our progress in the clean energy sector is an example of how federal and state policies and smart public private partnerships encourage growth and job creation. and this from senator heller, quote, i will continue my work on policies that position our state to harness its solar power potential. renewable energy development is critical to our state's and our nation's lonrm all-of-the-above energy strategy and what about southern nevada's house members. when solar city opened in west las vegas in 2014 congressman heck lauded it for, quote, bringing good jobs, building a new local industry and creating a brighter future for the entire region. and congresswoman titus praised the center for providing, quote, opportunities for people from across the region to learn new skills, contribute to our

cleaner world for generations to come. and, miss lagan, we didn't look at congressman amodei or hardy since we're focused today on solar but they, of course, also are positive about the industry's good impact on growth and more but what do you think of senator reid making clear that the partnership between federal, state and local government and private enterprise coming together in support of solar about how important that is. >> you know, it is going to be hard to find anybody that says anything negative about solar or any renewable energy because we know how important it is. we know that's part of our future and i'm grateful we've been talking about this for so long now so i'm grateful to the senators and also our members that have really looked at the importance of this. understand it is key to our community, key to the state and grateful it is something so impactful in a positive way. >> the chamber, boulder city, has a strong political advocacy component.

federal and state leaders and calls for funding and focus on the industry? >> so chambers are typically especially in rural communities are typically the epicenter the clearinghouse providing all of our members information so they can stay connected with federal agencies and know what is going on with their local and state governments and so we make sure that we connect them by sending them the link and providing information to anything coming up that they attention to and making sure the voice of our elected officials are communicated to them. >> we've discussed so many positive aspects of solar energy that there are concerns. what about the recent ruling by the public utilities commission and the resulting new rate structure, some are saying could greatly increase energy bills over time. what impact is that having on decisions on whether to install solar? >> so i know that in boulder city we are not a part of nevada energy so it a a little bit of a

utility and grateful for that but also it does make us fully aware of it because, of course, in a rural community if you don't have those epicenter metro communities that have those servicing agencies that we talked about earlier if you don't have a solar company that can come out and service your panels you are going to think twice about installing those panels and potentially helping the environment. >> that might give someone like you concern not so much maybe a little on boulder city but more on southern nevada in general, doesn't it? >> exactly because if there is not an agency or servicing center that can get to our panels in boulder city or our panels in any of the remote southern nevada areas unfortunately no one is going to install those panels. >> any comments on it from your friends say at the las vegas chamber or other? >> i am sure they've taken a stand on this. i unfortunately don't have those words in front of me. i'm sure we could find that information out but i know kristen and her staff are very much aware of what is going on, paying attention and they have

would you like to see the congress do regarding solar energy and other efforts? >> continue to move forward with some of the great programs that they are doing. you know, we talked about this many years ago or several years ago and i'm super grateful. i think that much like the unmanned aerial systems that we will be talking about in the future that is also a part of boulder city. i think boulder city is always going to pay -- play a key potential in the role. >> the unmanned aerial system we have to have you back for a just ahead what is ahead for solar in boulder city? we're going to talk with miss lagan about that right after

>> and we are back with our closing segment of today's "eye on washington." you know, miss lagan, as we close our show, today's fun show on solar energy and growth of the industry, especially in boulder city, what do you see, what do you believe as far as more and more residents joining the solar band wagon? do you see more people getting on board? >> i do. i know that is important to our

renewable energy is important to boulder city and they are aware of the footprint that they leave and so i do foresee more solar especially as the technology advances and as the panels become thinner, as it is easier to install, it is not as expensive and your return on your investment comes back quicker i see this being one of those very important things to our residents in southern nevada. >> i know you care a lot about small business. what are you hearing as solar grows in the boulder city area, are a lot of entrepreneurial people creating or i don't know, getting involved in businesses that can serve the solar industry? >> we just recently had two new members come on that are servicers and service providers and we're grateful for them. they are in the las vegas valley. i'm not seeing anybody in boulder city pick that up yet but that is a potential. we might see that in the future. you know, we're definitely part of that component and we will

businesses investigate and research and see what they can do with panels on their own businesses. i know that because we are part of a rural community usda has different programs. of course all federal agencies that might have grant opportunities will make sure that our members are aware of that. >> we know that you can save money on your tax bill, et cetera, if you do install a solar panel, but some people are a little afraid of the cost. what do you say to those people afraid oh, solar is too expensive for me? >> it has been interesting as we -- our office manager actually just went out and had an estimate done on her home so we wanted to understand are our houses positioned and roofs positioned properly and they were able to explain that to her. exactly how would you put this on, how would you install it and service it. if you have a tile roof how do they get to it. lots of questions but the industry provides lots of answers so we are grateful for that. i do foresee our residents as

i'm certain those businesses will pick up on that, too. >> all good news. thanks for being here today. a lot of fun. >> thank you. >> we will have to see you again soon, i hope. that is it for this edition of "eye on washington" with marilee joyce. we are always here for you, though, we're providing all of the latest news from the hill that you nevadans need to go. go to our website joycecommunications.com and check out the federal issues that impact nevada while you are there. like us on facebook. follow me on twitter. catch any shows you missed on our youtube page and again thanks for joining us today for "eye on washington." i'm marilee joyce in washington, d.c.

>> you're watching "the wellness hour," the leader in medical news and information. i'm randy alvarez. today's topic -- replacing missing teeth with dental implants. and according to my first guest, she says nobody should be wearing a traditional denture. no more dentures. with us, we have an expert on the topic, dr. nicole mackie. dr. mackie, welcome to the program. >> thank you for having me. >> so, tell me a little bit about your role as the prosthodontist, and who's the typical patient? >> we don't really have a typical patient. patients can be any kind of walk of life, any different kind of