Ormat Nevada Inc.
plans to bring a geothermal power plant online in Churchill County by 2006, adjacent to the existing Desert Peak Geothermal Power Plant, which it will replace, says Dan Schochet, an Ormat vice president.
The power is contracted to Sierra Pacific Power Company.
Ormat expects a 30-year operational life for the new state-of-the-art facility, Desert Peak 2, noting that improving technology determines when it's time to replace a plant.
Employment at the new plant is expected to increase by about 25 percent over the existing 18 employees, says Schochet.
The site is located 50 miles northeast of Reno off Interstate 80, near Brady's Hot Springs, where groundwater temperatures measure about 350 degrees.
Ormat owns part of the site and leases part from a private landowner, says Schochet.
Ormat handles construction and materials for all its plants.
The facility will consist of two units used to convert geothermal heat into power.
The first unit will be a 15-megawatt plant cooled by a bank of air condensers and the second will be an 11-megawatt plant cooled by a twocell cooling tower, according to the Nevada Public Utilities Commission.
The permit application submitted to the Public Utilities Commission is filed by Brady Power Partners and Orni 3 LLC, existing entities which were acquired by Ormat.
This spring, Ormat broke ground for a power plant at Steamboat, near the base of Mount Rose Highway in Reno.
The plant in Churchill County is slated to come online within a year after that, and a third plant at Galena off Mount Rose Highway within a year after that, says Schochet.
Ormat is doing exploration work in other areas of Nevada, says Schochet,with three locations under lease and a fourth in negotiation.
Ormat, based in Sparks,was founded 40 years ago and has operated in Nevada for 20 years.
The company also operates power plants in California and overseas.
