Blowin' in the wind

Sierra Pacific Resources, which has been hinting that it would take equity positions in renewable energy facilities, expects to take the first step in that direction with a large wind energy project in northern Nevada.

The wind farm, known as the China Mountain Project, would carry a price tag of about $400 million give or take about $40 million and would be financed by a joint venture of the Reno-based utility and Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc.

RES Americas, headquartered at Austin, Texas, is a unit of Britain's Sir Robert McAlpine Enterprises Ltd.

The two companies are well on their way to nailing down details of the development, said Tom Fair, the Sierra Pacific executive who oversees renewable energy projects.

Eighty to 100 large wind turbines would be located at the facility proposed about five miles west of Jackpot along the Nevada-Idaho border.

Each of the turbines would generate about 2 megawatts of power.

"These new turbines are pretty efficient," Fair said. "Globally, they are in great demand." The demand, however, also has pushed up the costs of developing wind-power sites.

The turbines would deliver power to the Sierra Pacific grid. A transmission line already runs nearby, a key consideration in selection of the site, Fair said.

RES staffers have spent about three years analyzing the wind resource at the northern Nevada site. When the company heard that Sierra Pacific Resources might be willing to invest directly in alternative power plants, RES made the call to the Reno utility.

Scott Piscitello, director of development for RES, said the combined financial and operational strengths of the two companies will bring the project to reality more quickly.

In the past, Sierra Pacific has contracted to buy power produced by renewable power sources geothermal, solar and wind but hasn't owned the facilities.

While the wind plant is the first direct investment in green energy disclosed by Sierra Pacific, Fair said several other proposals are in the pipeline.

As they've talked about possible sources of renewable energy, Sierra Pacific executives in the past have played down their interest in wind. The wind blows intermittently, they've noted, and there's no guarantee the wind will blow when power is needed.

But Fair said the company continues to generate traditional power plants a 514-megawatt gas-fired plant at Tracy east of Sparks, for instance, is nearing completion and those plants can meet demand when wind generation isn't available.

When it is available, the wind that drives turbines is free, although Sierra Pacific estimates the capital cost of a wind-farm plant at about $2 million per megawatt.

The proposal requires an environmental review, which is expected to begin next year, as well as approval by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada.