global geothermal news: october, page-16

Army plans to go green with geothermal in Hawthorne

A western Nevada town equipped with a storied army depot will be the staging area for a major new geothermal project.

Officials claim the plant, which would provide all required electric power to the depot, will have the capability of producing 30 megawatts of "clean power," according to a release issued Tuesday from Spokeswoman Lucy Engebretsen.

The plant should be completed by Dec. 2012, Engebretsen said.

The army plans to collect $ 631,000 per year in revenues from the surplus energy sold to "the grid" that it does not use to power the installation, according to Engebretsen. The fuel source will be naturally occurring underground steam and hot water.

The Army hopes to benefit from the plan by enhancing energy security, increasing its knowledge of geothermal technology and creating a funding stream estimated at $13.5M over the next 25 years. The plant has an estimated completion date of Dec. 2012.

"We spend over $3 billion every year on energy and the majority of it is spent on our installations," Geren said. "We can significantly reduce our energy consumption by partnering within government and with the private sector to capitalize on the great strides in proven technology that have been developed and implemented across the country."