LAS VEGAS -- The National Clean Energy Summit has brought high-level government and business leaders together to Las Vegas for the past five years.
Former President Bill Clinton is the keynote speaker at the summit and is focusing on building a clean energy economy.
Whether you call it clean, green or renewable energy, for decades, America has been exploring other sources of energy. Some changes are working well and some, such as the national start-up company Solyndra, have failed. Meanwhile, the country is still mostly powered by fossil fuels.
The politics of renewable energy were in play Tuesday at the Bellagio Hotel as Senator Harry Reid invited fellow Democrat, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, to announce Nevada's first wind farm, in White Pine County.
"Nevada really is at the heart of America's new energy frontier," Salazar said.
The Spring Valley wind power facility, near Ely, Nevada, will blow through a historic milestone Wednesday when it gets on the power grid.
"It's a historic day for the state of Nevada because you will see the first wind farm in action in the state of Nevada and it is 150 megawatts, which is an incredibly good step in the right direction," Salazar said.
That wind farm will be capable of powering 45,000 homes with zero emissions. Salazar later went to an exhibit hall to see some green inventions first hand, including a utility terrain on-road, off-road vehicle that's 100 percent electric, and produced by a North Las Vegas company.
"They will do everything that a gas vehicle will do, but save you a ton of money in the usage of them," said Neil Roth of Xtreme Green Products, Inc.
BriteSol is billed as a groundbreaking, renewable energy lighting company, based in Las Vegas. The company claims it will end the replacing light bulbs. The company also caught the eye of the interior secretary.
"The life span of the product is longer than a human lifetime," Dan Lang of BriteSol said.
Las Vegas also has its share of sleek cars. The all-electric Tesla model S, can go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds.
"Costs only about $5 to drive 300 miles. Compare that to what it costs you at the gas station," said Jeremy Snyder, Tesla Motors, which is based in Palo Alto, California.
Tesla model S cars, in case you're wondering, start at $49,900 and go as high as $97,900 for the signature performance model.
The summit ended with former President Bill Clinton talking about energy choices and how to sustain clean energy growth.
National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas
