Salt Wells, also known as Eight Mile Flat, is located near Fallon in Churchill County, Nevada. This geothermal area was originally drilled by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation in the early 1980s.
The Nevada Division of Minerals issued a geothermal project area permit to Nevada Geothermal Specialists, LLC to develop six production wells with an estimated depth of 1,000 feet; four injection wells with an estimated depth of 3,000 feet; and ten observation wells with an estimated depth of 1,000 feet. At the end of 2004, AMP Resources, LLC purchased the Salt Wells geothermal project, including all associated resource assets, from Nevada Geothermal Specialists, LLC.
One of the first wells drilled under this geothermal project area permit was the Industrial Production Well PW-2 (permit #568), which was drilled in the spring of 2005 to a depth of 143.6 m. Static temperature surveys showed a peak temperature of 145C and a flowing temperature of 140C. The well's flow rate was 2,500 gallons per minute for 46 hours with no drawdown.
Nevada Geothermal Specialists, LLC received approval from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to construct a 20-MW power plant at Eight Mile Flat near Salt Wells. As part of the Salt Wells project it made plans to build a 10-MW power plant by the end of 2005 and to bring a second 10-MW facility on line by the end of 2006. A new 6-mile-long, 230-KV power line will link the plants to the Sierra Pacific Power Company grid.
None at this time.