nevada

Nevada, already the second largest producer of geothermal-generated electricity in the U.S., is set to increase its power production by 25 percent.

The state is getting three new geothermal plants thanks to a $350 million 20-year loan guarantee from the Department of Energy to geothermal company Ormat Technologies.

The Ormat Geothermal Project will consist of three separate geothermal power-generation facilities--one each in Jersey Valley in Pershing County, Tuscarora in Lander County, and McGinness Hills in Elko County.

All three installations when fully operational will produce enough electricity to power about 88,000 homes annually, according to Ormat Technologies, the … Read more

In yet another sign that scientists and researchers have never watched a sci-fi movie in their lives, Google wants to install and test its self-driving cars in Nevada with the hope of one day criss-crossing the nation's urban roadways with them. While the move could eventually help keep drunk drivers off the streets of Las Vegas, Reno, and Pahrump, it also means the Silver State could be the first to fall to our onrushing robot overlords.

If you thought Paris Hilton and her ilk got stupid, falling-down hammered in Las Vegas before today's announcement, clear the decks if Google receives the permission it's seeking from local government. After a testing period, the self-guided vehicles would allow passengers to talk on the phone, text, tweet, and be carried to the inevitable Robo-Human Slave Conversion Camps in safety and--especially in Vegas--drunken comfort. … Read more

Google keeps the news ball rolling, dropping two new Chromebook laptops and an enterprise-ready Chromebox. Plus, of course, they make Chrome OS official. Oh, and how could we bury the lead? Angry Birds is now available in the Chrome App Store! For free! Plus, it turns out 100,000 Facebook apps were accidentally leaking your data, Apple and Google hit the privacy hot sheet, and a dude jumps out of a helicopter with a rocket pack strapped to his back. We won't spoil the ending for you. --Molly

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on Monday approved the Amargosa Farm Road Solar Project, the third major solar project to gain approval to be built on U.S. public lands.

The two 250-megawatt plants will be built by Solar Millennium, a German company that makes parabolic-shaped concentrated solar panels. Each plant will include a thermal energy storage system so that it can continue to supply electricity during cloud cover or at night for up to 4.5 hours per plant. Some of the solar-generated electricity will be explicitly directed toward powering buildings in Las Vegas, according to Solar Millennium.… Read more

A company called American Wagering is releasing a BlackBerry application in time for football season that will allow users to place sports bets from their smartphones.

Called Leroy's App, the software can be used anywhere in the state of Nevada, following its approval by state regulators, according to Las Vegas-based American Wagering.

"The Nevada Gaming Control Board scrutinized the project with a very thorough lab investigation, which helped us in setting the bar for our security features. We have developed the first mobile phone betting application to be approved in Nevada," John English, senior vice president at … Read more

The state of Nevada and Sicily, Italy, will each soon be using solar thermal plants that operate with molten salt to store and release solar energy.

Nevada got approval Thursday from the state's Public Utilities Commission for the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, a 100-megawatt thermal solar plant estimated to generate 480,000 megawatt hours of electricity annually once completed.

Both plants will use giant heliostats that reflect sunlight onto pipes containing a molten salt fluid consisting of sodium nitrates and potassium. The heat absorbed by the liquefied salt is used to make high-pressure steam that directly powers a … Read more

Nevada is about to become home to one very large wind turbine plant.

A-Power Energy, U.S. Renewable Energy Group, and American Nevada Group announced Thursday a joint project to build a mega-factory in Nevada for producing wind turbines.

The factory will produce and assemble advanced wind energy turbines for supplying wind projects in North and South America, producing an estimated 1,110-megawatts worth of turbines per year.

The 320,000-square-foot facility when completed will ultimately employ over 1,000 people, in addition to the temporary jobs its development and construction will immediately create.

Apparently, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (… Read more

At the tail end of this last week, I used my blog to preview the SCORE International off road trophy truck race Terrible's Primm 300 that took place over this last weekend in Nevada. Well, the 14th edition of this race has been run, and the results are in - of over 100 trucks to start the race, roughly 60% completed the grueling off road terrain with Robby Gordon coming in at 1st Place.

Y'know dear readers, I must admit it's sometimes difficult to find quality web video within a short turnaround time in order to present … Read more

There are many challenges in waging war for oil, not the least of which is fighting in a big sandbox--it's hard on soldiers and it's murder on helicopters.

Enter the Sandblaster. This is a helicopter avionics system commissioned by DARPA that integrates advanced flight controls, a "see-through" sensor, synthetic vision and data fusion to allow the pilots to fly safely in a zero-visibility, howling haboob, according to Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.

Using the Sikorsky system, the pilot has only to press a button to bring the chopper from en-route flight to a low, non-drift hover over a … Read more