NV Energy (NYSE: NVE) announced today that it has signed a
20-year power purchase agreement with a subsidiary of Ram Power
Corporation (TSX: RPG) for energy that will be produced by a new
geothermal power plant under development in central Nevada. The
32-megawatt Clayton Valley Geothermal Project is expected to be
generating electricity by 2014.
Terms of the power purchase agreement, which is subject to approval by
the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, were not disclosed.
The generating plant is being developed on one of five geothermal leases
that Ram Power has acquired from the Bureau of Land Management in
Esmeralda County, approximately halfway between Reno and Las Vegas.
According to the developer, Clayton Valley has sufficient geothermal
resources to produce up to 160 megawatts of electricity, which is enough
to serve up to 96,000 households. The project will be developed and
operated by Ram Power subsidiary Clayton Valley 1, LLC.
"We’re pleased to add more clean renewable energy to our supply
portfolio and to expand our use of geothermal power,” said NV Energy
President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Yackira. "The advantage of
geothermal energy is that it’s available for our customers around the
clock.”
NV Energy currently has more than 1,000 megawatts of geothermal, solar,
biomass, hydro, waste-heat recovery and wind energy under contract or in
the project development stage.
"Based on the 25 years of geothermal project development that Ram Power
management has enjoyed in Nevada, we look forward to a successful
project and the start of a new era in geothermal power generation in the
state,” said Ram Power Chief Executive Officer Hezy Ram. "We anticipate
the project will be eligible for various federal and state tax
incentives once completed.”
About NV Energy
Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, NV Energy, Inc. is a holding company
with principal subsidiaries, Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific
Power Company, doing business as NV Energy. Serving a combined
54,500-square-mile service territory, NV Energy provides a wide range of
energy services and products to approximately 2.4 million citizens of
Nevada and nearly 40 million tourists annually. For more information,
visit www.nvenergy.com.
About Ram Power Corporation
Ram Power is a renewable energy company based in Reno, Nevada, engaged
in the business of acquiring, exploring, developing, and operating
geothermal properties and has an interest in geothermal projects
primarily in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. For more
information, visit www.ram-power.com.
These statements contain forward-looking statements regarding the future
performance of Nevada Power Company d/b/a NV Energy, within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from current
expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited
to, risks related to drilling for geothermal sources, constructing and
financing geothermal energy projects, and regulatory approval and
permitting. Additional cautionary statements regarding other risk
factors that could have an effect on the future performance of NV
Energy, are contained in the Annual Reports of NV Energy, Inc. and
Nevada Power Company d/b/a NV Energy on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2008 and in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarters ended March 31, 2009, June 30, 2009 and September 31, 2009,
filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission. NV Energy undertakes no
obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these
forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or
circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.