The Stillwater Hybrid Plant in Fallon, owned and operated by Enel Green Power, officially unveiled its solar thermal energy capability Tuesday, making it the first power plant in the world to combine that type of energy with geothermal and solar panels. Reno Public Radio’s Noah Glick was there.
Dignitaries including Italian Prime Minister MatteoRenzi spoke at the ribbon cutting.
“If we invest in technology, we can create a different world; a new world,” Renzi says. “I’m absolutely convinced that this is a great space of cooperation. [The] United States and Italy could work not only for the cooperation of the traditional fields, but also in the renewable energies and in a different approach in the future.”
Renzi says the plant’s impact goes far beyond Nevada.
“Stillwater is not simply a city, a place, a plant. It’s a symbol. A symbol of cooperation between two big people,” Renzi says. “Old values, new energies: this is the strategy I think for our cooperation and our friendship, and I think this is also the message I must send to my fellow citizens in Italy.”
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, Senator Dean Heller and Representative Mark Amodei were also in attendance.