ELKO, Nev. – In cooperation with the Department of Energy, the Bureau of Land Management’s Elko District Office, Tuscarora Field Office released an Environmental Assessment (EA) on the Tuscarora Geothermal Plant and corresponding Electric Transmission Line.
Ormat Nevada, Inc. is the project proponent. The DoE and BLM prepared a joint EA providing current analysis regarding the impacts of the proposed geothermal power plant and electric transmission line.
The proposed transmission line would be 24.5 miles long, with a carrying capacity of 120 kilovolts from the 18 net megawatt Tuscarora geoothermal Plant, located about 10 miles north of Tuscarora, Nev., at the north end of Independence Valley. The transmission line
would run from the power plant east to State Route 226, then roughly parallel the highway until it ends at Nevada Energy’s Humboldt Substation about seven miles west of the intersection of State Route 225 and State Route 226. The transmission line would affect 8.5 miles of public land managed by the BLM Tuscarora Field Office and 16 miles of private land.
The geothermal plant is entirely on private land. Ormat Nevada has also requested a ROW for the 4,300-feet public portion of a 2.5 mile access road from State Route 226 which would serve the geothermal plant and provide for maintenance of the northern leg of the transmission line.
The EA is posted on the Elko District Office website, www.blm.gov/rv5c, for review until July 29th, when the BLM will issue a decision regarding the applications for Right-of-Ways (ROWs) for the transmission line and access road.
For any questions or additional information, please contact Kirk Laird at 775 753-0272.
