When you picture someone who supports solar power development and wants Nevada to develop more renewable energy, you probably don’t imagine that person to be a conservative?
Or someone arguing for such changes from a religious perspective?
Michelle Combs is both.
She's part of a group the Christian Coalition formed called "Young Conservatives 4 Energy Reform," which is lobbying the Nevada Legislature to pass a variety of green energy initiatives.
"We believe that having a cleaner environment is something that all Americans believe," Combs told KNPR's State of Nevada.
She said she became involved with environmental issues when she was pregnant and couldn't eat fish because of the mercury contamination. She realized that the contamination was from coal-fired power plants and she didn't understand why conservatives like herself weren't doing anything about it.
“I wanted to make it my mission to make this not necessarily a conservative or a liberal issue but a family issue and an American issue,” Combs said.
Combs said many lawmakers her group talks with are embracing the message in large part because of the energy independence part of the equation.
In Nevada, her group supports a bill that changes the practice known as net metering, which is the money power companies pay to rooftop solar customers for the power they send back to the grid. They also support a bill that changes the renewable portfolio standard, which outlines the amount of power energy companies must get from renewable resources.
Michelle Combs, Young Conservatives 4 Energy Reform
