The Legislature hereby finds and declares that it is in the interest of this State to establish and support in this State an independent corporation for public benefit, the Nevada Clean Energy Fund, for the purposes of:

1. Promoting investments in qualified clean energy projects;

2. Increasing significantly the pace and amount of investments in qualified clean energy projects at the state and local levels;

3. Improving the standard of living of the residents of this State by promoting the more efficient and lower cost development of qualified clean energy projects and providing financing for qualified clean energy projects that will create high-paying, long-term jobs;

4. Fostering the development and consistent application of transparent underwriting standards, standard contractual terms, and measurement and verification protocols for qualified clean energy projects;

5. Promoting the creation of performance data that enables effective underwriting, risk management and pro forma modeling of financial performance of qualified clean energy projects to support primary financing markets and to stimulate the development of secondary investment markets for qualified clean energy projects; and

6. Achieving a level of financing support for qualified clean energy projects necessary to help abate climate change by increasing zero- or low-carbon electricity generation and transportation capabilities, realize energy efficiency potential in existing infrastructure, ease the economic effects of transitioning from a carbon-based economy to a clean-energy economy, achieve job creation through the construction and operation of qualified clean energy projects and complement and supplement other clean energy and energy efficiency programs and initiatives in this State.

(Added to NRS by 2017, 2534)