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Mighty River Power part of milestone project in the US

Mighty River Power part of milestone project in the US Hudson Ranch I geothermal power plant, January 2012, Salton Sea, California/ U.S. (source: EnergySource)
Alexander Richter 7 Mar 2012

Mighty River Power joins the chorus of pride on the milestone achievement at the Hudson Ranch I geothermal power project in California. The company is a minority equity participant via its GeoGlobal Partners I Fund.

New Zealand state owned Mighty River Power has not been making too much noise on their international ambitions in the last couple years. The company is involved in several countries, e.g. Chile, the U.S. and Germany.

Now, the company provides more details about its activities with an announcement regarding the Hudson Ranch I project in the Salton Sea, California. The milestone project mentioned here announced last week that hit has reached grid synchronisation and is running at full capacity only 21 months after commencing construction.

Hudson Ranch Power I is the first new geothermal plant constructed in the large Salton Sea geothermal field in over 20 years and the largest geothermal development in the US in recent years.

Following a further month of field tests, the project would be the first of Mighty River Power’s international geothermal developments to move into commercial operation. Hudson Ranch Power I will supply renewable energy under a long term contract to Salt River Project (SRP), an Arizona utility providing electricity to over 900,000 customers, and uses similar technology to Mighty River Power’s Kawerau and Nga Awa Purua geothermal stations in New Zealand.

Mighty River Power is one of the world’s 10 largest geothermal developers and operators and currently has development interests in geothermal reservoirs across the United States, Chile and Germany.

The Company’s investment interest in the Hudson Ranch Power I project is through the GeoGlobal Partners I Fund (the GGE Fund), which has a minority stake in EnergySource. Through the GGE Fund, Mighty River Power invested US$92 million into the US$400 million project in May 2010, providing the largest equity interest in Hudson Ranch Power I, and facilitating commencement of construction.

Mr Trigg said the Company has taken a measured and prudent approach to international development opportunities and the initial stages of building a platform for international geothermal growth that leverages Mighty River Power’s experience and competencies in this global niche.

This approach has focused on investing equity capital in early-stage geothermal exploration and development in Chile and Germany, complemented in the USA by the investment in EnergySource involving the well known, large-scale Salton Sea geothermal resource and the later stage investment in the Hudson Ranch Power I project just prior to commencement of its construction.

Testing of the geothermal wells supplying the Hudson Ranch I project has demonstrated capacity well in excess of requirements, providing EnergySource with confidence to confirm interest in further investment in the Salton Sea geothermal field. In late 2011, SRP announced a second Power Production Agreement to purchase all of the output of EnergySource’s next project, Hudson Ranch II, also a 49.9MW plant.”

Source: Company release via Voxy.co.nz