CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- Gov. Jim Gibbons isn't joining U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in condemning three proposed coal-fired power plants in rural Nevada that would supply electricity to Las Vegas. Although coal plants long have been criticized for the pollutants they spew into the air, the Republican governor said new technology "minimizes the production of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas emission." Reid, D-Nev., said he opposes the coal-fired plants in White Pine and Lincoln counties because they would produce millions of tons of pollution. As an alternative, he wants the state to consider renewable forms of energy and improved energy efficiency.

WASHINGTON - The House rejected a resolution Wednesday that would block government plans to spur construction of major new power lines in many states regardless of local opposition. The issue has been contentious in parts of the East Coast and in the Southwest, where two high priority transmission corridors for power lines were proposed. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., warned colleagues that unwanted power lines could come to their district.

A new federal proposal to help electricity flow more freely could help the energy-choked East Coast. But it could also infuriate landowners, who have traditionally gotten their way in fights against utilities in Delaware. U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman last week named Delaware as part of his proposed eastern National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor. It would run from New York to Virginia, and west to Ohio. A second corridor would run through California, Arizona and Nevada.

The nation's top energy official on Thursday proposed naming a pair of "national interest electric transmission corridors," including one covering San Diego, Riverside and five other Southern California counties, as well as parts of Arizona and Nevada. Designating national power corridors could make it easier for San Diego Gas & Electric Co. to build a high-voltage power line across the county's desert and backcountry.

Lawmakers debated three bills Wednesday that change Nevada utility regulation, including one to classify power plants that burn tires as renewable energy systems for purposes of meeting state standards for “green” energy production. The other bills heard by the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee state that co-ops, non-profits and renewable energy systems are exempt from the state environmental review laws on utilities. The co-op and nonprofit measure, SB111, was approved despite opposition from state regulators and the Nevada Conservation League. The environmentalist group also opposed the other two bills, which will come up for committee votes at later hearings. SB111, sponsored by Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, would exempt non-profits and co-ops that want to build power plants from terms of the state’s Utility Environmental Protection Act, or UEPA.

State regulators on Wednesday gave Nevada's investor-owned electric utilities authority to spend $300 million to start developing the $3.7 billion Ely Energy Center and a related transmission line, but split on a proposal to give the utilities investor bonuses for the project if the utilities develop additional renewable energy plants. Nevada Power Co. of Las Vegas will pay 80 percent of the cost of the 1,500-megawatt, coal-fired plant; Sierra Pacific Power Co. of Reno will pay the rest. The Public Utility Commis-sion order specified that the project, which would be the largest power plant in the state, was a "critical facility," meaning the commission could later grant proposed financial incentives.

At the halfway point between the West Coast energy crisis of 2001 and the next major electricity contract renewal year of 2011, a federal power marketing agency is proposing a policy change that could affect rates in the Pacific Northwest for generations and become a national model for energy development. Northwest hydropower is one of the cheapest energy resources in the nation - about half the current market rate for electricity. The Bonneville Power Administration - which sells power in all of Washington, Oregon and Idaho and parts of California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and Montana - announced this summer it wants to change the way it charges utilities for its wholesale power, to keep rates low.

Some Nevada officials are skeptical of promises that Hill Air Force Base, a facility at Ogden, Utah, will not interfere with development of two giant power plants, a wind farm and power transmission line near Ely.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Seven utilities have announced formation of a partnership to advance the Frontier Line, an electric-power transmission grid that would serve Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California.

Advocates of renewable energy say federal tax credits for solar and wind power projects will expire next year before Nevada projects can be approved and operating.

WASHINGTON -- The Air Force is scaling back a proposal for a fighter jet training area over eastern Nevada, a military official said Tuesday.

KINGMAN - Putting Mohave County on the cutting edge of alternative energy sources took a step forward at Wednesday's planning and zoning commission meeting.

ELY - Local officials are opposing an Air Force request for more airspace over eastern Nevada, saying it could scuttle plans for two power plants and a wind farm.

LAS VEGAS -- Sen. Harry Reid called Wednesday for a 14-year federal energy plan that he said would encourage renewable sources of power and ensure domestic supply.