Could you please provide an introduction to the Governor’s Office for Economic Development (GOED) and its main missions?

The GOED is a government agency responsible for economic development in the state of Nevada. Our primary mission is to work on the forward-facing economic development of the state, which includes bringing in new businesses and industries to the area, promoting job growth, and supporting the overall economic prosperity of Nevada.

With the current administration’s focus on infrastructure development, how is GOED working to coordinate with federal money coming through the state, particularly in the mining industry?

As the coordinating agency for federal funding, we are currently seeing a lot of activity in the mining industry in relation to lithium, as we try to tackle climate change through electrification. There are currently around 24-25 firms trying to bring lithium deposits into commercial production in Nevada, and we see an opportunity to implement the entire lithium value chain in our state, from extraction to processing of the anodes and cathodes that go into batteries. This puts us in a unique position among the 50 states as the only one capable of completing the entire circle.

What is your outlook on Nevada’s role in the lithium supply in the US?

We believe that projects related to lithium production in Nevada will require multibillion-dollar investments, with workforce forces exceeding thousands of employees. As our staff likes to say, Nevada is poised to become the lithium capital of the US, and we see this vision coming to fruition, especially with the recent grants allocated by the Department of Energy to several lithium projects in the state.

What will be the GOED’s main priorities in the coming months?

One of our top priorities will be to fix workforce issues by ensuring broadband connectivity in rural areas to attract generations X and Y to live there. We will also focus on permitting efficiency to help the industry get itself organized and address the issues it faces. We believe in public intervention and the “visible hand,” where the government and industry come together to support each other’s goals and promote economic development.