“However, this first stage merely confirms where the resources are located to inform future industrial scale geothermal energy development,” the suit said. “Once the exploration project begins, it will be impossible to stop the effects of the entire geothermal production project.”
The exploration project calls for 19 test wells and pads, associated facilities and 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometers) of improved and new access roads.
The proposed wells would be adjacent to a number of unique hot springs that are relied upon by the local community for tourism. The springs also are ecologically significant because they’re “interconnected with each other, the ecosystem and the pristine landscape of the region,” the suit said.
“After participating in the public process and seeing no movement on our concerns, we filed this lawsuit to help ensure the impacts from the proposed project are minimized, and that Ormat is a good corporate citizen in this environmentally sensitive, economically vulnerable area of northern Nevada,” said Adam Belsky, Burning Man Project’s general counsel.
Thomsen said in an email that Ormat “looks forward to prevailing in the lawsuit and continuing its contribution to Nevada’s green energy, zero emissions future, which will offset some of the copious amounts of fossil fuels the Burning Man Project annually emits in the Black Rock Desert.”
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