Originally published at Montara Energy Ventures.

Aerial view of power plant (lower right corner)


One interesting site along the way to the visit to Sou Hills last week was the Brady Springs Power plant. Both the springs and the power plant are clearly visible and accessible off I-80 east of Reno (and Fernley) Nevada. This 27MW gross, 21MW net dual-flash plant has been in operation since 1992 and is owned and operated by Brady Power Partners, an Ormat subsidiary. In addition to the electricity production, a food processing plant is located right next door which takes advantage of direct use of hot water in their process.


Closeup view of power plant


One thing that is always striking about geothermal plants is their relatively small footprint and their relative cleanliness. While it is not clear from this level of detail, there are pipes all around the plant bringing the geothermal brine to the power plant and then to the food plant. These pipes are camoflauged and are small in comparison to their counterparts at the Geysers.

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