Up to 60 MW PPAs Signed in Nevada for Geothermal Power

The contracts specify purchases from new geothermal power plants to be constructed in northern Nevada. Each of the contracts is for 20 years and will require review and approval by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada. The PPAs are for new plants planned for construction by Ormat at Carson Lake, in Churchill County and Buffalo Valley, in Lander County, and are both projected to come online in late 2009, pending approvals of the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

These agreements represent the eleventh and twelfth PPAs between Ormat and Sierra Pacific Resources, and are the fifth and sixth executed since Nevada enacted its renewable portfolio standard legislation in 2001.

"Fuel diversity is important to our company and our customers, not only to meet the state's goals for renewable energy standards, but to help stabilize energy prices during times of volatile energy markets," said Tom Fair, executive, Renewable Energy Program for Sierra Pacific Resources. "Geothermal power has an impressive track record of being clean and reliable and is becoming competitively priced with conventional power generation."