Nevada leaders have announced a new calculator that will help homeowners and renters determine how much they can save by tapping into electrification incentives.

Kristee Watson, executive director with the Nevada Conservation League, explained that the tool is a "collaborative approach" to ensure Nevadans are able to save money and decrease reliance on fossil fuels. She said earlier this year her nonprofit went knocking door to door in Clark and Washoe counties and had conversations about Rewiring America's energy-efficient upgrade savings calculator with more than 25,000 Nevadans. She called it a game changer.

"We see it as our job to make sure that we are going out and educating people about how they can save money and drive down their energy usage, and this Rewiring America tool makes that easier," she explained.

She said while there is a push to ensure lower-income Nevadans are also able to reap the benefits and funds made available through the Inflation Reduction Act, there are programs with less stringent income requirements, or none at all. You can find the incentive calculator at 'homes.rewiringamerica.org.'

Watson said as more Nevadans decide to make their homes more energy efficient, it'll take less energy to cool and heat them, meaning decreased levels of fossil fuels, which negatively impact the environment and public health. She added that the available incentives, rebates and tax credits will help folks save money now and in the future.

"We can tell people all day long, but sending them to an IRS website is a really negative experience and that is what we want to avoid. We want people to be making decisions that are going to protect air quality and health, but we want to do it in an easy way - a consumer friendly way," she said.

Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., said she is proud to have helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act and bring federal dollars to southern Nevada communities who are on the front lines of what she calls the climate crisis. She added that the federal investments are creating jobs as well as advancing a resilient clean-energy economy.

"$14 billion in outside investment in clean energy projects in our state alone, that means 20,000 new jobs in our state with a projection of up to 40,000 new jobs over the next 10 years," she explained.

Lawmakers in the U.S. House will vote on a bill this week affecting Virginia's ability to create stronger emissions standards for vehicles and trucks.

The bill targets "California emissions standards," policies which call for 100% of cars sold to be electric or emissions-free by 2035. That policy has been partially or fully adopted by Virginia and 16 other states.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to repeal the standards, leading to the legislative effort.

Rob Sargent, program director of Coltura, an energy transition nonprofit, said the federal government should be increasing access to electric vehicles instead of going against policies that promote them.

"EV tax credits and any programs designed to make EVs available to the American people are key," he said, "and can unlock decades of savings for people for what has been a strain on their household finances."

A report by the independent Government Accountability Office stated that Congress does not have the authority to repeal the emissions standards. Supporters of the bill have said banning gas cars is an affront to consumer freedom.

More than a half million Virginians are considered "gas super users," meaning they use significantly more gasoline than the average driver.

Sargent said repealing strong emissions standards would make it harder for states to reduce their carbon footprint.

"If Congress acts to pull the rug out from under those states' ability to take action to make cars cleaner in their state," he said, "then it also will undercut the availability of electric vehicles for consumers that would save them money."

The Senate is considering a similar bill despite opposition from within the Legislature.


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This week, the Trump administration announced what it terms "emergency permitting" for energy projects, streamlining a sometimes yearslong process down to 28 days. Opponents said it will mean time in court.

The U.S. Interior Department plans to alter the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act and National Historic Preservation Act so projects around oil, gas, coal, minerals and more can proceed without the agency approvals the laws require. The department said it's part of President Donald Trump's January "National Energy Emergency" declaration.

Erik Molvar, executive director of the Western Watersheds Project, said there is no such emergency.

"The idea that there's some kind of 'national energy emergency' is a lie that the Trump administration is making up to justify an extralegal approach to approving energy projects and skipping past the environmental safeguards that Congress put in place," Molvar contended.

He argued the move risks historic sites, wildlife habitat and recreation opportunities on Montana's 30 million acres of public land. Molvar added he expects energy projects brought under the new, streamlined permitting will be overturned in court.

The announcement comes just one day after the Interior Department's draft strategic plan for the next four years was leaked. A "big idea" cited in the draft is to, quote, "release federal holdings to allow state and local communities to reduce costs," and in parentheses, "housing." Molvar stressed it would essentially put federal responsibilities in the hands of smaller entities.

"These state and local governments have a distinct tendency -- particularly in conservative parts of the rural West -- to want to maximize industrial development, maximize local communities' abilities to line their own pockets, with really little consideration to the long-term health of the land," Molvar emphasized.

Strategic goals listed in the plan include to "restore American prosperity" and "ensure national security through infrastructure and innovation."


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The owner of Michigan's Palisades Nuclear Plant is getting another $47 million to restart the facility.

It is the third installment of a $1.5 billion federal loan package. Palisades was decommissioned in 2022 after more than 50 years of operation.

Now owned by Holtec International, the plant in Van Buren County is expected to supply enough power to serve about 800,000 homes but environmental and Indigenous groups are voicing frustration after a federal panel recently denied a full hearing on petitions challenging the restart.

Kevin Kamps, radioactive waste specialist for the advocacy group Beyond Nuclear, is among those in opposition.

"A recent analysis by Dave Lochbaum, who is retired from the Nuclear Safety Program at Union of Concerned Scientists, placed Palisades at something like 84th out of 105 reactors in the country," Kamps pointed out. "His analysis was they're more like in the bottom rung of the industry, actually."

Holtec countered before its 2022 shutdown, Palisades was ranked in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's highest safety category and was a top-performing plant in the industry. Palisades is set to reopen in October, becoming the first U.S. nuclear plant to restart after being decommissioned.

Punkin Shananaquet, a member of Michigan's Indigenous community, emphasized for many Native people, the issue is not just about public safety, it is about honoring the sacredness of the land and water and educating the next generation about protecting the earth.

"We just can't be pushed through the corporate world because they have no spirit," Shananaquet contended. "We have spirit. We are the ones with the feelings for this place."

Holtec International maintains the Palisades restart is being made possible by broad local support, citing not only the energy it will produce but the jobs, economic growth and tax revenue for the area.


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