Known for decades as a global epicenter of gaming, hospitality, and tourism, Nevada is setting its sights to advance on the path to develop a lodestone for companies looking to enhance their competitive footprint.
The goal is to create “a vibrant, innovative, and sustainable economy with high-paying jobs for Nevadans,” says Melanie Sheldon, senior director of business development in the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) in Carson City.
“Nevada is a business-friendly state,” Sheldon says. “The main reasons for that are low-cost startup, regulatory, licensing, annual fees, taxes and tax structure, privacy of business owners, and competitive utility rates for commercial operations.”
The state’s new economic development goals “rest on a foundation of educated, healthy, and connected communities with capable public services and access to quality jobs…and will be realized by pursuing clean energy, strengthening innovation ecosystems, and bolstering critical infrastructure,” she says.
The strategic vision Sheldon alludes to was detailed in an in-depth Five-Year Strategy Report, released by the GOED earlier this year.
Compiled by scientific researcher SRI International, the report found that, “given the development in Nevada’s clean tech industry and its complete lithium supply chain, the state is positioned to be ground zero for the energy transition and to play a key role in securing the energy independence and security of the United States.”
Nevada’s innovation ecosystem, the report stated, “benefits from a strong entrepreneurial culture, dynamic economy, low cost of living, and easy access to the fifth largest economy in the world, California.”
As such, the SRI report stated, Nevada’s Five-Year economic development strategy “includes a Leadership Plan for Inclusive Growth to ensure that residents throughout the state, regardless of background or zip code, can contribute to and benefit from economic growth.”
The development of the information technology and advanced manufacturing industries, and Nevada’s access to and production of natural resources such as lithium, and its proximity to innovation hubs and talent, says Sheldon, “has enabled clean energy to flourish in the state.”
The 2023 plan heightens the focus on improvements in the state’s infrastructure at the center of economic development and emphasizes the critical importance of creating programs ready to provide companies in the state with a highly-trained workforce skilled in meeting the demands of new and developing energy and advanced manufacturing technologies,” the report said.
Currently, the state’s Knowledge Fund “recruits highly specialized science and research faculty, expands existing research areas, and assists applied research centers in supporting industry innovation.”
Earlier this year, the GOED launched a first-ever program called Individual Career Mapping (ICM) and Training Delivery Model, which “leverages the power of virtual reality to help close gaps in career navigation and training for underrepresented groups.” The Model calls for users to don a VR headset and ‘dive’ into virtual workplaces to develop new work skills.
At the same time, the state’s Workforce Development Component project, coordinated by the Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation, has been tasked with “developing, enhancing, and supporting a skilled workforce capable of meeting the dynamic hiring needs of the lithium batteries, critical elements, and other electric vehicle materials industry sectors.”
“Northern Nevada is uniquely positioned to help power our nation’s clean energy future through battery and electric vehicle innovation,” says U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen, adding that the University of Nevada, Reno had been selected as one of 31 regional Tech Hubs designated by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA).
The Hub will be initially funded by a $21 million grant from the EDA that will go toward “continuing efforts to advance important industry sectors such as lithium batteries, critical elements, and other electric vehicle materials,” according to the GOED.
Given the development in Nevada’s clean tech industry and its complete lithium supply chain, says the GOED’s Sheldon, “Nevada is positioned to be ground zero for the energy transition and to play a key role in securing the energy independence and security of the United States.”
Some examples of Nevada’s “ground zero” status:
- American Battery Technology Co. is building a $39 million EV battery recycling facility in Fernley, NV, near Reno. The company will also erect a hazardous waste storage facility adjacent to Tesla’s battery gigafactory at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRIC) in McCarran, Nevada.
- Carson City-headquartered Redwood Materials is crafting a closed-loop EV battery recycling supply chain for automaker Ford to recycle nickel, cobalt, lithium, and copper. The company has said it will build a battery materials manufacturing plant in Nevada that will produce 100 GW of cathode-active materials a year by 2025 with the goal of providing materials to power five million electric vehicles by 2030.
- Google has entered into an agreement with Nevada electric utility company and Las Vegas-based NV Energy to increase the supply of geothermal power to its data center operations from 3.5 MW to 115 MW in about six years. As part of the agreement, NV Energy is working with geothermal developer Fervo Energy for the geothermal power supply.
- Last December, NV Energy was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy as one of four companies across the country to receive nearly $8.4 million “to develop technologies that will improve grid reliability, optimize electricity infrastructure, and facilitate grid connection with renewable resources.” The project studies ways to increase power line capacity to handle the power generated by renewable energy sources and identify optimal locations for sensors to collect information on capacity that “will be the foundation to keeping the lights on, lowering costs, and creating clean energy jobs for Nevadans and other communities.”
Speaking at the recent 10th Annual Investment USA Summit in National Harbor, Maryland, Governor Joe Lombardo, announced that five international companies have recently unveiled investment and expansion plans in Nevada – a development showcasing, he said, “the incredible work of GOED’s Business and International divisions, regional development authorities, and economic development organizations.”
Together, added Lombardo, “these key players are continually attracting new business and growing existing businesses throughout the state.”
One of those “key players” is the Northeastern Nevada Regional Development Authority, which facilitated the move by UK-based Capital Mining Services to set up its first U.S. office in the City of Elko. The company’s new facility will conduct extensive geochemical analysis and mine drilling operations.
PCM RailOne Ag manufactures concrete ties and track systems for the rail transportation sector. The German company has said it will build a $20 million U.S. headquarters facility in North Las Vegas, which was chosen “because the city has good access to the entire Western U.S., which has a lot of potential high-speed rail projects.” The plant is scheduled to begin commercial operations early next year.
The Clark County Office of Community and Economic Development served a key role in attracting two other European firms to the greater Las Vegas region – Urban Mobility Systems B.V. (UMS) and Noovo, which is expanding its existing 6,000-square-foot facility in Las Vegas to cover more than 20,000-square feet.
UMS is a Netherlands-headquartered ‘cleantech’ firm that develops and manufactures battery electric and hybrid fuel cell drive trains to replace the diesel engine traditionally used in heavy-duty on- and off-road vehicles. France-based Noovo specializes in converting vans into mobile offices and homes and is currently expanding its existing manufacturing facility, moving from its 6,000-square-foot plant in Las Vegas to a 20,000-square-foot facility.
Located in northern Nevada’s Humboldt County, the City of Winnemucca is the new U.S. home of Quebec-Canada-based FTE Drilling. The company specializes in sonic, geothermal, and water drilling and made the decision to set up shop in Nevada after meetings in Montreal with Gov. Lombardo and the Humboldt Development Authority.
The company stated that it chose the Silver State “because of its vibrant mining industry, abundant business opportunities, and favorable tax advantages and legislation.”
In January, Governor Lombardo signed a Declaration of Understanding with Jesper Møller Sørensen, Denmark’s Ambassador to the United States, to explore opportunities to work closer on renewable energy projects.
One of the first collaborations is targeting the establishment of a renewable energy powered industrial park in Lincoln County that could attract $260 million in investment and create 150 jobs. The future collaboration will also explore opportunities for creating similar parks in other areas of Nevada.
According to the GOED, Lincoln County has made a 200-acre site available for development that has access to rail with the ability to transport the newly created biofuel internationally. The site has 1.3 million acres of trees within a 50-mile radius. There are several options for expansion that could include other forms of renewable energy sources in the industrial park.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has designated pinyon-pine and western juniper trees for treatment because they are considered invasive, abundant, and highly flammable. The trees have no commercial lumber value, yet they have a high fuel content and are ideal as a lucrative feedstock for thermochemical processing into biofuels.
“This innovative and collaborative technology project produces clean renewable energy while simultaneously utilizing trees that need to be thinned out to maintain a healthy forest,” according to Lombardo. “This is an exciting opportunity, and we look forward to more potential collaboration between Denmark and Nevada in the future.”
Nevada, he says, “continues to lead the nation in economic development. Our low cost of doing business, favorable regulatory environment, and robust litigation ecosystem make us a top destination for companies seeking expansion in the United States, and we’re excited to continue diversifying our economy with international partners.”
