UNR, Ormat Technologies receive $15.3M grant for geothermal energy efforts

RENO, Nev. — The U.S. Department of Energy announced more than $15 million in grant funding for the University of Nevada, Reno and Ormat Technologies, Inc., in support of geothermal energy efforts.

According to a July 29 press release, UNR received $10 million for work “to accelerate discoveries of new, commercially-viable hidden geothermal systems in the Great Basin region by combining play fairway analysis, machine learning, advanced geostatistics, and other analytical techniques into a comprehensive exploration toolkit.”

Ormat was awarded $5,361,423 “to conduct a comparative analysis of similar stimulations in different geologic environments and increase production.”

“Nevada’s work to support geothermal energy plays a critical part in the development of viable, renewable sources of energy to power our state while protecting our environment,” U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said in a July 29 statement. “This grant funding, which will be used to support investment in geothermal research and development, will help to create a cleaner future for the Silver State. I will continue working in Congress to secure support for Nevada’s clean energy initiatives.”

Earlier this year, Rosen helped introduce the Solar and Geothermal Tax Credit Expansion Act (S. 3229) with U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) that would extend clean energy tax incentives and create tax parity for geothermal energy technologies.

“Ormat is thrilled to receive $5.3 million of grant funding from the DOE for research and development projects in Nevada,” Paul Thomsen, Vice President of Business Development at Ormat, said in a statement. “These research projects will address barriers to widespread geothermal development and advance geothermal technology in our region, ultimately putting more Nevadans to work in clean energy jobs.”