Empire Energy, LLC is part of the Empire Group of companies including Empire Research and Empire Farms. Facilities owned by or to which Empire Energy supplies energy include an approximately 3.6-MWe net geothermal binary power plant and an onion/garlic dehydration plant operated by Empire Farms. Both facilities are located in the San Emidio Desert in northern Washoe County, Nevada. The site is located just south of Empire and Gerlach, and approximately 100 miles (161 km) north of Reno, Nevada. The power plant was constructed by ORMAT Energy Systems and went online in mid-1988. The plant consists of four 1.2- MWe ORMAT energy converters (OEC) designed to produce 3.6 MWe of net power at a design temperature of 285 F (141 C)