NCET

ENEL Geothermal LLC plans to build two energy plants in Churchill County and was granted tax incentives by the Nevada Commission on Economic Development. ENEL says it plans to invest $200 million to construct Stillwater and Salt Wells, owned by Enel Stillwater, LLC and Enel Salt Wells, LLC. The projects are expected to reach breakeven point in about 15 years. During the yearlong construction peak, the company expects to employ 400 construction workers. Once the plant is operational about 35 will be employed at an average wage of $18.12 an hour. ENEL says it is seeking local profes­sionals to fill the positions. Read more:

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Not along ago, homebuilder Ken Hendrix recalls, buyers snapped up houses in Fernley because they were more affordable than those in the booming markets of Reno and Sparks. But a cooling market brings houses in Reno and Sparks within reach of more buyers, and Hendrix these days hopes for the creation of jobs to boost the residential sector. He may not have to wait long.

Industrial developers said last week thou­sands of new jobs are in the pipeline in Fernley and the nearby Tahoe Reno Industrial Center. Also just over the horizon are a major medical development and more stores in the city 30 miles east of Sparks. It can?t come quickly enough for Hendrix, the general manager of R&K Homes, as he?s seen a decline among buyers who commute to Reno or Sparks for work. Read more:

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NCET (Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology), Golden Capital Network (GCN) and the Sierra Angels announced that the winners of the recent Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition have been invited to present their business plans at the 7th Annual Silver and Gold Venture Capital Conference to be held on October 22-23 at the Siena Hotel Resort Casino in Reno, NV. The conference will feature more than 40 venture capital and angel investors and a wide range of presenting companies from Nevada and Northern California. The two winning teams are:

•  Graduate Winners: NanoVation, Inc. – University of Nevada, Reno
• Undergraduate Winners: Weingart & Keranen Environmental Solutions – Sierra Nevada College

  “For the student teams, this is the next step on the path that began with entering the Governor’s Cup competition in March,” said Dave Archer, NCET’s CEO. “They were selected as finalists based on their written business plans, and then 1^st Place winners based on their oral presentations. We have now invited them to present their business plans to a wide range of Angel and Venture Capital investors drawn from throughout the Western United States.”

The conference features leading seed and early-stage venture capital, corporate, and angel investors as panelists and/or speakers. Investor speakers will have the opportunity to market their fund, share industry expertise with entrepreneurs and their peer investors, review top-notch, pre-screened deals, and establish important new relationships with other active angel and venture investors who focus on the Western Unites States.

Taken individually, they are a diverse group — ranging from lawyers, to politicians, business owners and advertising professionals.

Taken collectively, the winners of Friday’s 20 Under 40 awards — given to the top professionals in the Reno- Sparks area younger than 40 — are doing their best to enhance the quality of life in Northern Nevada. Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (NCET) board chairman David LaPlante was among those honored for his accomplishments and contributions.  Read full story:

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The modern-day wildcatters came first, sinking drills into the hills above town, looking not for oil but for hot water.

Small, almost inconspicuous buildings followed the drilling rigs. They house turbines that hum almost without notice as they use the Earth’s heat to make electricity.

And today, a string of plants connected by a pipe made hot to the touch by scalding water stretches from the top of the hill down to a valley on the outskirts of town. Owned by geothermal power developer Ormat Nevada, the plants draw hot water from underground reservoirs to create enough electricity for a city of more than 200,000 people.

This fledgling power system goes unnoticed by tourists who drive past it to ski at Lake Tahoe, but developers of these emissions-free plants say they are the future of green energy in Nevada.

Technology to harness the Earth’s heat to make power has been used here since the 1980s. But now, geothermal companies – spurred by federal tax credits, the requirement that Nevada utilities buy and promote renewable energy and recent auctions of federal land for exploration – are working on a new generation of plants that could power nearly 1 million homes. Read full story:

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