The area in Western Nevada, known as "Wabuska" (a Washoe Indian word for "White Grass") has been home to hot springs for hundreds of years and became a stage stop for freight and passengers in the early 1870's. In 1959, Magma Power Co. drilled 3 steam producing wells in the vicinity.

 

 

 

 

     Homestretch Geothermal officially began business on March 1, 2001 with the purchase of the Wabuska Geothermal Power Plant from Tad's Enterprises. 

 

     

 

     Members of the Egbert family, Andrew, Cory and their parents, bought the business and created Homestretch Geothermal. The original property was 80 acres of land, some water rights, and the power plant with a contract to sell power.

 

     Within the first two years of ownership, Homestretchadded a third generator, Unit #3. Then in following years Homestretch acquired an additional 480 acres of private land, additional water rights to total 8,688 acre feet, and the geothermal lease on 4,720 acres of surrounding BLM property.

     In 2011, Homestretch drilled two new geothermal wells, for a total of four onsite, and added 4 more generating units for a total of seven. In 2014 an additional acreage of undeveloped land was leased to the South of the original property and a large pipeline was installed to deliver water over 3 miles to the Southeast of the plant for irrigation and cultivation of crops.

     With the seven generating units in operation, the nameplate rating for the power plant is 5.6 Mwh. The actual power produced averages around 2.2 Mwh gross. The limiting factor being the water temperature.

 

     Homestretch's water temperature ranges between 215-210 degrees Fahrenheit, with water being pumped from two production wells, approximately 700 feet deep. 215 degrees is generally considered cool for geothermal power production, but the cooler temperatures and shallow wells result in water that just falls short of being drinking quality.

 

      Thanks to the high quality water pumped onsite, Homestretch is permitted to surface discharge the water, creating hundreds of acres of wildife habitat. In 2015, the water was approved for agricultural uses, and Homestretch immediately began working to put the water to use, growing food for Nevadans.

 

     In early 2016, Homestretch expects to begin cultivating the first 200 acres of an anticipated 2,000 acre farm, using water from the geothermal wells.
 

 

 

    Andrew and Cory  Egbert are native Nevadans, raised on a cattle ranch outside Wells Nevada. The skills they learned working side by side with their family, prepared them for the challenges of running the Wabuska power plant. 

 

      The Egberts are owner-operators, meaning that almost all the work done onsite, from construction to maintenance, is done by Homestretch employees. Hard work and innovation have allowed the Egberts to succesfully operate and grow the business for over 14 years.