Italian company to construct geothermal plants near Fallon

Two geothermal power stations are under construction near Fallon by one of the world's largest renewable-resource companies.

Enel, which is based in Italy, purchased an existing geothermal plant operating at Stillwater, along with the AMP Resources project proposed at Salt Wells in March and three other projects proposed by AMP in California and Utah.

Julie Smith Galvin of Enel said the Stillwater plant is already in operation but will be completely upgraded with new technology.

The Salt Wells plant will be brand new.

"We have drilling activity under way right now (at Salt Wells)," she said. "And we've just received the final permit to begin construction."

The site is near Salt Wells about five miles south of the Austin Highway.

Sean Sever of the Nevada Public Utilities Commission said the Salt Wells project also includes six miles of 230 Kilovolt power transmission line needed to connect it to the Sierra Pacific grid.

Together, Galvin said, the two plants will generate about 50 megawatts of power.

"We expect them to begin generating by the end of the year, early 2009 at the latest," she said.

Sever said on average 1,000 homes in Northern Nevada can be powered per megawatt generated, meaning the new plants can provide power for approximately 50,000 homes.

Enel North America, Galvin said, is a subsidiary of Enel Spa, based in Rome with generating plants worldwide as well as in 21 states and three Canadian provinces.

The company is Italy's largest utility and, Galvin said, company engineers are excited about the possibilities in Nevada and the West.

She said the company is one of the world's largest in renewable generation, with more than 19,000 megawatts of capacity. In other parts of the world, she said, the company operates more traditional generating plants. In North America, she said, the investments are only in renewable technologies: Hydroelectric, wind, geothermal and biomass.

She said Enel was one of the pioneers in geothermal electric generation, opening its first plant more than 100 years ago in the Tuscany region of Italy. She said that geothermal field is still active and generating power.

• Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.