DOE-funded Geothermal Company Makes Discovery-

Vancouver-based Sierra Geothermal Power Corp has announced a geothermal discovery at its 100 percent owned Alum project in Esmeralda County, Nevada. The finding comes from Sierra’s slim well 26-19, which was drilled to a maximum depth of 1,484 meters (4,868 feet). The preliminary bottom hole temps reached 146 degrees Celsius (295 degrees Fahrenheit), with several zones of high permeability encountered between 1,116 and 1,325 meters (3,663 and 4,349 feet). After coring through the 209 meter permeable zone, a geothermal water sample was air lifted and flowed for three days and samples were collected for analysis. The temperature log returned a maximum of 130 degrees Celsius (266 degrees Fahrenheit) at 630 meters (2,067 feet). Under the 2009 Geothermal Technologies Program grant award, the Department of Energy (DOE) financed half the cost of the wells – with the total cash award from the DOE for the Alum project totaling $5,000,000. The Alum project was acquired from Geo-Energy Partners 1983 Ltd in 2006.“We are grateful for the financial support that we are receiving from the DOE in advancing our Alum project, as it has helped us make a discovery at Alum with less capital than we would have otherwise employed. Numerous people were employed during the drilling of these wells, showing that the DOE grant program is working. We look forward to advancing the Alum project to the next level which is drilling full sized production assessment wells,” said Gary R. Thompson, President and CEO of Sierra.