A 20-year power purchase agreement was signed by NV Energy with Ram Power Corporation’s subsidiary for energy from a geothermal power plant, Clayton Valley Geothermal Project, in central Nevada. The 32-MW geothermal project, which is under development, is anticipated to produce electricity by the year 2014.
Ram Power has purchased five geothermal leases from the Bureau of Land Management and the Clayton Valley plant is being constructed on one of these leases. Clayton Valley 1, LLC, a subsidiary of Ram Power, will develop and operate the project. The developer said that the project has enough geothermal resources to generate up to 160 MW of power, which is enough to meet the electricity needs of about 96,000 homes.
Michael Yackira, NV Energy President and Chief Executive Officer, said the company is delighted to augment its clean energy portfolio with the addition of power from the geothermal plant. Yackira commented that the customers are benefited, since the geothermal power is available round the clock.
Currently, NV Energy has more than 1,000 MW in its renewable energy portfolio either under contract or in project development stage. Ram Power Chief Executive Officer Hezy Ram said the company is expecting various tax incentives from state and federal governments for this geothermal project.