USA, Nevada: Ormat Plans 18 MW of Solar PV to Power Tungsten Geothermal Power Plant Parasitic Electric Load

Solar plus geothermal under review in Nevada (pv magazine USA)

The owner of the Tungsten Mountain Geothermal Unit is researching the addition of 18 MW of solar PV to power some, or all, of the site’s parasitic electric load.

The Bureau of Land Management is reviewing whether to approve a solar power plant, the Tungsten Mountain Solar Project, to complement an already existing geothermal plant. The plan is to develop up to two 9 MW-DC plants and a short transmission line (gentie line) connecting the solar facility to the geothermal component.

The purpose of the solar project is to allow project owner Ormat to maximize the energy produced by the Tungsten Mountain Geothermal Unit. The geothermal plant has a power purchase agreement signed with the Southern California Public Power Authority.

The solar facility is not designed to feed into the local power grid, and is not included in the power purchase agreement – but instead is to be used to balance out most, possibly all, of the facilities parasitic electricity load.

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