Government to help finance geothermal project

The U.S. Department of Energy said Tuesday that it will issue a partial loan guarantee for a big geothermal project in Northern Nevada.

The department will use federal stimulus funds to back a $98.5 million loan from John Hancock Financial Services for Nevada Geothermal Power Co.'s Blue Mountain project, a 49.5-megawatt development in Humboldt County.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced the deal, calling Northern Nevada the "Saudi Arabia of geothermal energy." He also thanked Energy Secretary Steven Chu for recognizing Nevada's clean-energy potential.

Chu noted that the United States now leads the world in geothermal-power production, with 3,000 megawatts of installed capacity.

"Our support of the Blue Mountain project demonstrates our continued commitment to realize the potential in geothermal so that we can achieve our nation's clean-energy goals," Chu said.