CEDA breakfast in Fallon to focus on geothermal ‘FORGE’ project

FALLON, Nev. — Paul Thomsen of Ormat, Churchill Economic Development Authority’s newest Corporate Business Council member, will present information on the Fallon FORGE project at the monthly CEDA breakfast Wednesday, April 11, at 6:45 a.m. at Stockman’s Casino Steakhouse in Fallon.

RSVP to beth@cedaattracts.com, or call 775-423-8587.

The DOE Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) is a dedicated site where scientists and engineers will be able to develop, test and accelerate breakthroughs in enhanced geothermal system (EGS) technologies and techniques.

FORGE’s mission is to enable cutting-edge research and drilling and technology testing, as well as to allow scientists to identify a replicable, commercial pathway to EGS.

In addition to the site itself, the FORGE effort will include a robust instrumentation, data collection, and data dissemination component to capture and share data and activities occurring at FORGE in real time.

The innovative research, coupled with an equally innovative collaboration and management platform, is truly a first of its-kind endeavor.

Fallon, along with a proposed site in Utah, is one of two locations being considered for an underground laboratory to conduct research on enhanced geothermal systems.

Sandia National Laboratories is working on the Fallon project, which is the Ormat site located south of the Naval Air Station Fallon runway toward Macari Lane. The University of Utah will be working at a site in Milford.

Thomsen is executive director of Government and Regulatory Affairs for Ormat Technologies. Upon assuming this role in May 2017, he has taken the lead on Ormat’s legislative and regulatory programs related to project development in the United States.

Thomsen brings expertise in both the public and private energy sector, previously serving as commissioner and chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, director of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Energy and director of Policy and Business Development for Ormat.

He also worked for the law firm of Lionel Sawyer and Collins, and United States Sens. Harry Reid and Richard Bryan. He has advocated for meaningful energy policy as president of the Board of Directors of the Geothermal Energy Association and chairman of the U.S. Clean Heat and Power Association.

Thomsen earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s degree in public administration from the University of Nevada, Reno.