Geothermal firm urges use of alternative energy

John Wilkerson

Friday, Feb. 9, 2001 | 9:26 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Construction of environmentally friendly geothermal power plants might be the silver lining of an energy-crisis cloud moving east across the Sierra from California, lawmakers were told Thursday.

However, an industry spokesman said Nevada must do more than hope for alternative energy producers to flood the state with power proposals.

Steve Munson, chief executive of Vulcan Power Co., a Bend, Ore.-based company that develops alternative energy sources, told the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee that Nevada is an ideal place for geothermal power generation.

"The U.S. Department of Energy has called Nevada the Saudi Arabia of geothermal," said Munson, adding that geothermal power is environmentally friendly, cheap and cost-stable.

He said geothermal plants are located at hot springs, so they aren't dependent on outside suppliers of fuel that can vary widely in price.

"We're kind of a hedge against continued high gas prices," Munson said.

Munson also said geothermal is one of the cleanest forms of energy, along with solar and wind. Almost all water from subterranean hot springs used for power generation is returned to the ground, he said.

However, Munson said his company will not build geothermal plants in Nevada unless the Legislature passes a law requiring geothermal to account for a fixed percentage of all energy sold in the state.

He also said the Legislature must assure the geothermal industry it can get long-term power contracts.

Currently, just 1 percent of Nevada's power must come from renewable sources. A legislative proposal would raise that to 9 percent -- which Munson said would be sufficient for Vulcan to invest in plants capable of generating a total of 500 megawatts.