ORMAT’s Dixie Meadows geothermal project was approved by the Bureau of Land Management in late November. Located roughly 43 miles northeast of Fallon, the project includes the development and operation of up to two 30-megawatt net-rated geothermal power plants. ORMAT is currently in the process of acquiring applicable permits to start construction.
The BLM press release on the approval of Dixie Meadows said, “States across the western United States have adopted renewable portfolio standards that require electricity providers to obtain a certain percentage of power from renewable energy resources. Nevada’s renewable portfolio standard requires that the state’s utilities procure 25 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2025. The Dixie Meadows Geothermal Utilization Project would help to meet these mid-and long-term regional needs. This project also supports Executive Order 14008: Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad and the Energy Act of 2020.”
Jake Vialpando, BLM Field Manager for the Stillwater Field Office in Carson City reported to Churchill County Commissioners on Wednesday that the Center for Biological Diversity will file a lawsuit in District Court, and they are pursuing a Temporary Restraining Order on the Dixie Meadows project. “It was anticipated, I was actually surprised it took them this long for them to say they’re going to file.”
Another ORMAT geothermal project, Diamond Flat, located south of Fallon, is being opposed by the Walker River Paiute Tribe. “I have made it clear to the Tribe that we will still go through the appropriate application process and consider the appropriate NEPA process to fully consider the application. If at the end ‘no action’ is selected, I went through the proper process. I anticipate starting the process in January 2022,” reports Vialpando.
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