U.s. Geothermal Completes Purchase

摘要

U.S. Geothermal Inc. announced on May 1 it had acquired a 3.6 MWe, operating, geothermal power plant and about 28,358 acres of geothermal-energy leases and certain groundwater rights north of Reno, Nevada, for a total transaction-purchase price of $16.62 million. The assets are in two locations. The San Emidio assets are in the San Emidio Desert, Washoe County, and include the geothermal power-plant project, about 22,944 acres of geothermal leases, and groundwater rights used for cooling water. The Granite Creek assets include about 5,414 acres of BLM geothermal leases about six miles north of Gerlach, Nevada, along a geological structure known to host geothermal features, including the Great Boiling Spring and the Fly Ranch Geyser.rnThe 3.6 MWe power plant has been producing power since 1987 and the electricity is sold to Sierra Pacific Power Company under an existing power-purchase agreement extending through 2017. A March 2008 resource assessment of the San Emidio geothermal leases by an independent expert, Black Mountain Technology, shows a total-resource potential of 44 MWe, with a 90% probability factor.