RENO, NV  August 16, 2011 – Gradient Resources Inc., a privately held corporation headquartered in Reno, Nevada, held a ground-breaking event at the site of its 60 MW geothermal power plant located within Churchill County, near Fernley, Nevada.  Present were representatives of federal, state and local government and elected officials, SAIC Constructors LLC., the primary contractor for the new power plant, representatives from Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and NV Energy as well as the Gradient Resources Board of Directors and Gradient investors.

Gradient Resources CEO Craig Mataczynski described the new power plant; referring to artist renderings of the new generating station, “When this project is complete, we will have erected approximately $300 million in steel, concrete and equipment, including the cost of labor.  Of this $300 million, approximately $50 to $60 million will be filtered back into the local economy. This is, in my view, a big deal and will have a positive impact on the City of Fernley, Churchill County and surrounding areas.”

Nevada State Assemblyman Tom Grady congratulated Gradient Resources on bringing the project to its construction phase.  Siting a 17.3% unemployment rate in nearby Lyon County, Grady said “We are anxiously waiting and will welcome the jobs this project will be providing in the state of Nevada”.

Others addressing the 165 guests, authorities, and Gradient employees, included Ryan Cherry, representing U.S. Senator Dean Heller’s office, who presented a certificate commemorating the event, Gary Johnson from the Nevada BLM division of minerals, Gary Lawson of SMUD and Mike Gwyn, President SAIC Constructors, LLC. A letter from U.S. Senator Harry Reid, read by CEO Craig Mataczynski, stated “I am confident that together we can power Nevada and the United States with clean renewable energy, bolster a growing local industry, and create thousands of new jobs if we invest in our geothermal energy resources….”

The Patua Project will proceed in phases, the first being 60 MW, with a goal of up to 120 MW, to be delivered to SMUD.  The process for developing the Patua Project was the result of a collaborative effort of Gradient’s development team together with investors, lenders, governmental agencies, and elected officials.

ABOUT GRADIENT

Gradient Resources is a geothermal developer founded in 1991 that holds an extensive property portfolio of geothermal leases and applications covering more than 170,000 acres in Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington and Arizona. Gradient has a signed 20-year Power Purchase Agreements (“PPA”) with Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), and is currently negotiating additional PPAs with other regional utilities. Gradient is a vertically integrated company that wholly owns the subsidiary companies that provide its drilling and cementing services. Investors include an affiliate of Denham Capital and a principal investing division of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. For additional information on Gradient Resources and geothermal power, go to www.gradient.com.

 

Media contact for Gradient:

Christa Wicks-Morris, Communications Manager

(775) 284-8842 email: publicrelations@gradient.com