Western Geothermal announced this week that drilling permits have been secured for the first two wells in its bid to revive the old PGE Unit 15 in the southwest corner of the known geothermal resource area. The company expects that they will drill 8 wells to reach production capacity for commercial operations which are expected to commence in 2010. Thermasource will be the prime contractor on drilling operations and will use the Northern California Power Association’s drill rig to perform the work.

Unlike most geothermal drilling projects, this is a pretty sure bet since there were production wells sited here in the past and the geological structure has been studied for decades. When the Western Geothermal project comes online, it will be the second project (Bottlerock being the other) to bring more production online in the Geysers region. Between Calpine and NCPA, the two active producers today, the total output of the area is around 900MW.

After the previous night’s nice dinner at the Gulden Schaf and a long day at the office, I decided to down scale a bit and find a pizza and some nice beer. The beer as you would imagine wasn’t at all challenging to find, Heidelberger Weizen (wheat beer) but the pizza had some pitfalls to it, particularly for German-language challenged people like me. In English, a pepperoni pizza is a pretty unambiguous menu item. In Germany, one gets peppers of the vegetable variety instead of thinly cut spicy sausage.

Thus fellow travelers, if you find yourself in Germany and you want a pepperoni pizza, make sure it’s pepperoniwurst or you will get a different pizza than you anticipated.

CNN reports today that Fred Thompson, Republican candidate for President has ended his candidacy. Thompson a former Senator from Tennessee and actor wasn’t able to close the gap on McCain and Romney in South Carolina placing a distant third place in the primary. The general view is, if a “son of the South” can’t compete in South Carolina, he is not a viable candidate. Back to the television studios for you Mr. Thompson. On the bright side for him, the pay is better.

Former Candidate Fred Thompson

Drilling at Blue Mountain, Nevada

Photo Credit: Nevada Geothermal

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(MARKET WIRE)–Jan 18, 2008 — Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. (NGP) (CDNX:NGP.V – News)(OTC BB:NGLPF.OB – News) is pleased to announce positive results from Well 25-14, completed to a depth of 2370 feet (722 metres), having intersected a strong production zone at 2270 feet (692 metres).

Rig-on flow testing on January 7, 2008, encountered temperatures of 378 degrees F (192 degrees C) and the capacity of this well is expected to be similar to Well 26A-14 and Well 23-14. Longer term testing is planned and results are expected in the next month.

“We are very pleased with the success of how the development drilling is proceeding at Blue Mountain Faulkner I Power Plant. We have drilled approximately 20 MW net capacity from just three wells,” stated Brian Fairbank, President & CEO.

Read more…

This has to be considered excellent news for Nevada Geothermal, the Blue Mountain project is really beginning to shape up. The last major hurdle for development of the site is transmission, the site is 20 miles from an appropriate interconnect. Given the characteristics of the resource they’re developing, getting a line through should be possible. Of course there are many regulatory and legal aspects to complete that portion of the project. According to Nevada Geothermal, the transmission project is on target and drilling at the site will continue.

Last night I was able to walk to old Heidelberg and try one of the long established eateries, The Gulden Schaf (Golden Sheep.) It’s a cozy place that first served meals in 1749 and has been in business since. The latest incarnation includes the restaurant, a hotel, shop, and gallery. I had the lamb chops (with vegetables and french fries) with Heidelberger Bier and finished with the chocolate mousse. The dinner was delicious and certainly hit the spot after being awake for about 36 hours.

If you happen to be visiting Heidelberg, this is a good spot for those who might be German language challenged (like me…) The staff were very friendly and tolerant of weary and hungry visitors.