The bill, signed quickly by President Bush, extended tax incentives for companies that have long eyed Nevada as the epicenter of a renewable energy revolution.

"This bill is a major step in our long journey toward energy independence and ensures that solar energy will be a significant part of America's energy future," Solar Energy Industry Association President Rhone Resch said in a statement. "This long-term extension of the solar tax credits will create a domestic solar industry with hundreds of thousands of jobs while providing clean, affordable, carbon-free energy to millions of American families, businesses and communities."

The legislation extends the existing 30 percent federal investment tax credit for all renewable energy sources except wind for another eight years. Incentives for wind energy, which has already decreased in price because of tax incentives, will continue through 2010 only.

The bill eliminates the $2,000 cap for residential solar electric installations built starting in 2009 as well as rules banning utilities from benefiting from the credit.

It further supports renewable energy by authorizing $800 million for clean energy bonds for new renewable energy facilities.

The incentives are expected to boost the renewable energy industry long enough for the economies of scale to bring down the cost of building renewable energy facilities such as solar arrays.

Nevada is poised to be at the center of a renewable energy revolution in the West. It has plentiful geothermal and wind supplies and enough solar energy capacity to power the entire nation.

The expiration of tax credits for renewable energy developers at the end of this year was considered a major hurdle for solar power developers in Southern Nevada.

About a dozen major solar developers are planning to build large utility-scale solar energy plants in the area. Nationwide, about 27 utility-scale solar projects totaling 5,400 megawatts of power were put on hold in recent months because of uncertainty surrounding the expiring tax credits.

Without tax incentives, it would have been more difficult for solar companies to attract investors necessary to get their projects up and running.

Renewable energy development has the potential to revitalize the American economy. It is expected to generate about 440,000 new jobs for electricians, plumbers, roofers, construction workers and in manufacturing.

Much of that growth is expected in the solar sector, which already employs about 60,000 Americans.

The anticipated growth in solar developments would give a significant boost to solar companies already in Nevada. Acciona has plans to expand its existing Nevada Solar One facility and is considering Southern Nevada as a possible site for an even larger concentrating solar power array.

Ausra, which has the nation's first concentrating solar power panel manufacturing plant in Las Vegas, would likely see an increase in orders and would likely move forward with plans to build solar plants of its own here.

"Deploying solar projects that can provide power on the scale of a public utility requires a stable investment environment," Robert Fishman, president, chief executive and chairman of Ausra, said in a statement. "The eight-year extension of the tax credit will allow Ausra to continue its leadership in developing innovative technologies to meet our customers' needs and the energy challenges of our future in a clean, reliable, cost-competitive manner."

Solar power is gaining in popularity in Southern Nevada, where the broiling summer heat is a constant reminder of potential energy being wasted. At the same time, utility costs have risen dramatically as the price of the natural gas we burn for about 75 percent of our electricity has skyrocketed.

While solar arrays cost more to build and they cannot produce power 24 hours a day, the cost of the power they generate is constant since sunlight is free.

But before the state can become the center of the national solar energy industry and fully tap in to the available solar resources, it must dramatically upgrade its transmission capabilities.

Currently Nevada's southern and northern grids do not connect. And the lack of transmission here in general has earned the state the nickname of the "doughnut" of the Western grid because electricity bound for neighboring states generally must be routed around Nevada.

The promise of increased renewable energy generation here and across the Southwest has already spurred change.

Both NV Energy and LS Power Group are planning large transmission lines connecting the Southern Nevada grid to the rest of the state.

LS Power plans to further expand the grid to run through the state's wind corridor in Northern Nevada and into southern Idaho. It has nearly completed obtaining permits and expects to have the southern portion of a 500-kilovolt transmission line connecting the two Nevada grids by 2010.

It expects to have the second half of the transmission line connecting Nevada and Idaho on line by 2012.

Improved transmission would encourage even more extensive renewable energy growth in the state than is currently being planned. With better connections to surrounding states, renewables developers would be able to sell energy not just to Nevada, but to other states as well.

In other news, NV Energy last month received the Public Utilities Commission's approval to build a 484-megawatt natural gas fired power plant at Harry Allen Generating Station and to acquire a 562-megawatt natural gas plant owned by Reliant Energy.

Reliant's Bighorn Power Plant is a state-of-the-art facility approximately 35 miles south of Las Vegas and has been operating since 2004.

The Harry Allen facility is expected to be on line by summer 2012.

"These facilities will provide much-needed efficient energy production capability for Southern Nevada, which will benefit all customers," Michael Yackira, president and chief executive of NV Energy parent company Sierra Pacific Resources, said in a statement. "The two projects fit well with one element of the company's three-part energy strategy, namely to invest in the cleanest, most energy-efficient new electric generating facilities to assure reliability."

Southern Nevada gets about 75 percent of its electricity from natural gas fired power plants.

By the time the two plants are fully integrated in the Nevada grid the state utility expects to be purchasing or generating enough renewable energy to reduce that number to 65 percent.