LAS VEGAS — Republicans have vowed to continue pressing legal claims against Nevada’s 2021 law allowing the inclusion of mail-in ballots received up to four days after Election Day.

Federal District Court Chief Judge Miranda Du said plaintiffs including the Republican National Committee, the state GOP, the 2024 Trump campaign and Nevada voter Donald Szymanski, a registered Republican, “lack standing to challenge the Nevada mail ballot receipt deadline.”

The plaintiffs had sued Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar, Washoe County Registrar of Voters Cari-Ann Burgess, Washoe County Clerk Jan Galassini and Lorena Portillo and Lynn Marie Goya, respectively Clark County’s voter registrar and county clerk. The two counties are the state’s most populous.

In a 15-page ruling, Du, a 2011 Obama appointee to the federal bench, said none of the plaintiff’s claims demonstrates they “have suffered, or will likely suffer, an injury” if the ballot-counting measure is allowed to stand. The judge said “it does not necessarily follow that mail ballots arriving after Election Day will skew Democratic. And even if later-arriving mail ballots have favored Democrats past elections, it is far from guaranteed that Nevada voters will behave similarly this November.”

She went on, “The Nevada mail ballot receipt deadline does not have an ‘individual and personal’ effect on the voting power of Republican voters; it neither undermines their access to the polls nor disproportionately diminishes the weight of their votes relative to other Nevada voters.” 

Clark and Washoe counties tallied 45,596 mail-in ballots in 2022 voting, the secretary of state’s office reported, with 89% of those arriving the day after Election Day.

It’s unknown how those ballots broke down along party lines, but Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto defeated GOP challenger Adam Laxalt by 8,000 votes that year.

Republicans believe Nevada, which hasn’t gone for a GOP presidential candidate since 2004, could end up in former President Donald Trump’s column this year and have stepped up voter-integrity efforts, with party chair Michael Whatley saying the Silver State is “absolutely critical” in regaining the White House.

A GOP spokeswoman, Claire Zunk, told Courthouse News the party will appeal.

“Our case fights a Nevada law that shouldn’t be on the books; it breaks federal law and allows mail ballots to be counted after Election Day,” Zunk said. “Rather than letting us fight this in court, a liberal judge unjustifiably dismissed our case. Political parties must be allowed to fight invalid election laws that threaten the integrity of our elections. We are committed to protecting the ballot and we will pursue further legal action in this case.”

The Republicans are not alone in challenging voter issues in the Silver State. Last month, the Public Interest Legal Foundation, joined by two Nevada voters, sued Clark County’s Portillo over rolls showing voters listing a casino, several industrial parks and a topless club as their residential addresses.

That lawsuit, along with a similar one in Washoe County, is pending.

July 19, 2024 Anne Fischer

Primergy and Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners announced that the Gemini solar-plus-storage project outside of Las Vegas, Nevada is now operational.

The 1.8 million solar panels are expected to generate up to 690 MW and they’re co-located with 380 MW of 4-hour battery energy storage (1,400 MWh). Using a DC-coupled storage configuration enables the batteries to be charged directly by solar, thus increasing efficiency.

In April 2022 the two companies announced that they had closed on a landmark deal of $1.9 billion in debt and tax equity financing project. The debt financing consists of $1.3 billion in credit facilities and $532 million in tax equity commitments, with the tax equity commitments provided by Truist Bank and Bank of America.

In constructing the project, which is on federal land, Primergy reports that it “created and implemented an unprecedented framework for ecosystem management” by leaving vegetation in place and using a tracker system that follows the natural undulations of the ground. The company estimates that it was able to reduce the project’s land footprint by over 20%.

During construction the project reportedly created approximately 1,300 union and prevailing wage jobs and contributed approximately $463 million to Nevada’s economy.

“Gemini creates a blueprint for holistic and innovative clean energy development at mega scale, and we are proud to have brought this milestone project to life and to have delivered so many positive impacts across job creation, environmental stewardship, and local community engagement,” said David Scaysbrook, co-founder and managing partner of Quinbrook.

The project uses Maxeon Solar Technologies’ solar modules that use bifacial mono-PERC solar cells made on large format 8-inch G12 wafers. Maxeon reports that these modules offer efficiency of over 21%, enhanced shade tolerance, and power ratings of up to 625 watts. The modules are mounted on trackers from Array and Ojjo, which are specifically designed to withstand harsh desert environments and high wind speeds with a patented wind-mitigation system.

Primergy selected Kiewit Power Constructors Co. as Gemini’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) partner and IHI Terrasun Solutions as the integrator for the project’s 380 MW/1,520 MWh lithium-ion battery.

NV Energy signed a 25-year power purchase agreement for the energy produced by the Gemini plant. It is  expected to meet 10% of Nevada’s peak energy needs.

Primergy Solar is a developer, owner and operator specializing in utility-scale solar PV and battery storage projects across the U.S. Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners is an investment manager focused on the infrastructure needed to drive the energy transition in the UK, U.S., and Australia.

After the Chillicothe Mudcats clinched a postseason spot on a walk-off home run on Wednesday night, their exciting four game win streak in the MINK League was snapped on Thursday night, as they came out flat and lost 10-7 on the road against Nevada. The Griffons, who were already eliminated from MINK League postseason contention, snapped their own eight game losing streak in the process.

It was just the third time this season that the Mudcats and Griffons squared off, and it was Nevada’s second win over the Mudcats this season. Both teams will face off one final time in Nevada on Saturday night.

Chillicothe scored first on the night, with an RBI single from Noboru Shinohara getting the Mudcats in front, 1-0, in the top of the second. It was Shinohara’s second RBI base hit against Nevada on the road this season, the other RBI coming back in late May.

Unfortunately, Nevada would hold the lead from there for the rest of the game, scoring three runs in the bottom of the second, and two runs in the bottom of the third, to take a 5-1 lead, all on just two hits combined. Chillicothe starting pitcher Sungbin Park struggled, only going 1.2 innings, giving up four walks and hitting three Nevada batsmen.

Chillicothe would battle back though, as Sammy Cruz hit an opposite field two run home run to cut the deficit to 5-3, one of his three hits on the night in his best game at the plate this season. It was also Cruz’s first home run of the season. Nevada, however, would score three more runs, one unearned, in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 8-3 in their favor. One of their runs came on a solo home run by Diego Flores, which was Nevada’s only home run on the night.

Chillicothe wouldn’t give up though, as the home run party continued in the sixth. A solo shot from Nathan Cupp, the second Mudcats home run in the game, made the score 8-4 in the sixth, giving Cupp his first homer of the season.John Spoto would score on a wild pitch in the seventh, making it 8-5. Spoto finished with three hits, and two doubles on the night, continuing the fantastic week for him at the plate.

Nevada would ultimately score two decisive insurance runs, one of them unearned in the bottom of the eighth, creating a mountain to climb for the Mudcats heading into the top of the ninth. The Mudcats would not go away, as doubles from Spoto and Cruz in the ninth helped the Mudcats make the score 10-7.

Chillicothe ultimately sent the tying run to the plate, with runners at first and second and two outs. Unfortunately, there was no more later magic left for the Mudcats, as Drew Sanidad grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the game.

It was a sloppy defensive game from both teams on the evening, as Chillicothe and Nevada combined for nine total errors in the matchup. That included a Nevada player committing five errors on his own, but the Griffons’ offense helped back up their poor defense. Nevada has now scored 31 runs against Chillicothe in the three matchups against the Mudcats this season.

Chillicothe moves to 19-21 on the season, and is now 17-20 in MINK League action. the fall to 6-10 on the road, and lose their third game in the last four matchups that have taken place on the road. Nevada, on the other hand, picked up just their fifth home win of the season, a consolation prize for the team that was mathematically knocked out of postseason contention earlier this week.

The Mudcats still have three games to play, all of them on the road. If they win two of them, they will host a postseason game at Shaffer Park on Monday night. The Mudcats can also clinch a home postseason game, and the number four overall seed in the MINK League playoffs, with one win in their next three games, and a Sedalia loss in the Bombers’ regular season finale against Jefferson City on Friday night.

Next up for the Mudcats is the Clarinda A’s in a rescheduled game that will take place today at 4:00 p.m. It’s a single 7-inning game today on the road for the Mudcats, as they play the first game in a rare three-team doubleheader. Clarinda will face the Carroll Merchants in the second game of the doubleheader. Be sure to tune in this afternoon for more fun Mudcats baseball live on KCHI and on kchi.com.