PROJECT SUMMARY

In September 2010, the Department of Energy issued a $98.5 million partial loan guarantee under the Financial Institution Partnership Program (FIPP) to finance Blue Mountain, a geothermal power plant. The plant is currently harnessing renewable energy by tapping into an underground geothermal reservoir in northern Nevada.

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION

Blue Mountain uses commercial, state-of-the-art binary cycle geothermal technology. Three Ormat Energy Converters (OEC) are used to convert medium-temperature geothermal heat into electrical energy by utilizing the hot, geothermal fluid—called “brine”—extracted from the geothermal reservoir beneath the earth’s surface. This brine is used to heat a secondary liquid (isopentane), which is vaporized and flows through the turbines to generate electricity. The brine is then injected back into the geothermal reservoir.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Blue Mountain created 200 construction jobs and is expected to support 14 permanent operation jobs. The project’s construction involved more than 300 suppliers, mostly from within Nevada, but also from California, Oregon, Colorado, Texas, and Oklahoma.

CLIMATE BENEFIT

Blue Mountain is expected to produce 240,000 megawatt hours of clean energy annually. It is expected to prevent 130,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

 

PROJECT STATISTICS: BLUE MOUNTAIN

PROJECT SUMMARY

Owner Cyrq Energy, Inc.
Location Humbolt County, Nevada
FINANCIAL SUMMARY Loan Program Title XVII
Loan Type Partial Loan Guarantee
Loan Amount 1 $98.5 Million
Issuance Date September 2010
ENERGY SUMMARY Operation Status Operating
Generation Capacity 39 MW
Projected Annual Generation 2 240,000 MWh
ECONOMIC IMPACT Permanent U.S. Jobs Supported 14
U.S. Construction Jobs Supported 3 200
CLIMATE BENEFIT CO2 Emissions Prevented Annually 130,000 Metric Tons
NOTES

Loan fully repaid in March 2022. All information up-to-date as of March 2022 and will not be further updated.

1 Approximate amount of the loan facility approved at closing including principal and any capitalized interest.

2 Calculated using the project's and NREL Technology specific capacity factors. For cases in which NREL's capacity factors do not encompass project's specific design and operation, project specific capacity factors are used.

3 Estimated at the time of closing.

 

PROJECT PHOTOS