12.5 MW Star Peak geothermal project connected to grid in Nevada
Star Peak geothermal plant, Open Mountain Energy, Nevada (source: Google Maps/ screenshot)
Alexander Richter
12 Aug 2022
The geothermal power plant by Open Mountain Energy/ Kaishan at Star Peak, Nevada has been connected to the grid and started commercial operation.
In a release shared yesterday, Chinese group Kaishan rep0rts having started commercial operation of the 12.5 MW Star Peak geothermal power plant in Nevada, U.S..
In 2017, the company the company acquired the Rye Patch-Humboldt House geothermal project in Pershing County, Nevada through its wholly-owned subsidiary Open Mountain Energy, LLC with the project named “Star Peak”. Project. The company had completed the development and construction of the first phase of the Star Peak project of 12.5 MW (net) in 2021.
The Star Peak project is connected to the grid of Nevada utility NV Energy, and the power is eventually sold to California. Previously, because NV Energy has not been able to arrange its construction and commissioning team to complete the interconnection test of the Star Peak access point circuit and communication line, the Star Peak project has been delayed into operation. The NV Energy team entered the venue on July 10, 2022, and completed the testing of circuits, protection, relays, communications, etc. in early August.
At 10:00 a.m. on August 10, 2022, Nevada time, after NV Energy completed the test work of the booster station, the Star Peak project was successfully integrated into the NV Energy grid and began to produce electricity; according to the power purchase agreement, the electricity produced can be produced at US$70.25 /MWh sold in full. After successful grid connection, Star Peak Power Station will complete the full-load reliability test and continuous operation test required for tax equity investment and project financing in a relatively short period of time.
The California Public Utilities Commission approved mid-term energy reliability procurement requirements in 2021, requiring at least 1,000 megawatts of installed geothermal power to be purchased by 2025. On July 27, 2022, the U.S. Congress issued a statement on the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022”, the energy and climate provisions of which plan to invest $369 billion in clean energy and climate change projects over 10 years. The above energy policy has prompted the company to take the United States as a key market for geothermal investment and development. The OME board of directors has approved the investment and construction plan submitted by the management team with a net output of at least 100MW of electricity by 2025. At present, OME has purchased its own drilling rig and mobilized it to the Fish Lake site in Nevada, and will soon start drilling the production well of the project.
Source: press release via AAstocks
