This week some conservatives have taken to calling a struggling Nevada geothermal power company that received government loans and an endorsement from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) the "Democrats' next Solyndra."

But yesterday, Reid's Silver State colleague, Sen. Dean Heller (R), offered the Democratic leader a bit of political cover when it comes to Nevada Geothermal Power.

The New York Times on Monday noted that the company is in the midst of serious financial struggles despite a $66 million government grant and a $79 million loan guarantee for one of its subsidiaries to develop its Blue Mountain geothermal power plant. The loan was made through the same program that funded the now-bankrupt Solyndra effort to the tune of more than half-a-billion dollars (Greenwire, Oct. 3).

After the story ran, right-leaning websites including RedState.com and the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation noted Reid's fingerprints on the Nevada Geothermal project.

Reid has been a proponent of the emerging geothermal sector and has pushed for industry tax incentives that Nevada Geothermal has made use of. He also specifically promoted the Blue Mountain project.

"This project is exactly the type of initiative we need to ensure Nevada creates good-paying jobs," Reid said after visiting the site in April 2010. That was two full months before the project was approved for a conditional loan guarantee by DOE.

"Is Harry Reid-Backed Nevada Geothermal the Next Solyndra?" the Heritage Foundation asked in a blog post Monday in which one of its policy analysts argued that the government should stop loan guarantees and any other private capital allocation.

When asked about Nevada Geothermal yesterday, Heller said he did not know enough about the company at this point. But he also stood up for the geothermal sector at a time when some of his Republican colleagues are calling for the government to get out of the green technology investment business.

"Everybody in our delegation supports the process of making geothermal a viable energy resource for the state of Nevada and for the rest of the country," Heller said. "I support our effort to diversify the economy in Nevada and across the country with some of this green energy."

Heller also specifically supported the Blue Mountain plant back in October 2009. At a ribbon cutting ceremony marking the opening of the new plant, Heller was one of several government officials who sent letters congratulating the company. Heller's "special congressional recognition" was presented by his local district representative and wished the company luck in its efforts.

The problem is not necessarily the concept of loan guarantees, Heller said yesterday, but rather in the execution of that effort.

"Obviously we do a very poor job vetting some of these companies -- making sure they are viable programs. Obviously in the case of Solyndra, that wasn't the case," Heller said. "I just think we need to be much more careful about who we select and how we select them and make sure they are viable companies."

Nevada Geothermal spokesman Paul Mitchell yesterday was quick to note that the company has nothing in common with Solyndra.

"We are an up and running power plant that delivers power to about 35,000 customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," Mitchell said. "We are consistently making our loan payments."

Meanwhile, DOE has also pushed back against any attempt to tie the Blue Mountain project to Solyndra.

DOE spokesman Dan Leistikow noted on the agency's blog that the loan guarantee is for the Blue Mountain power plant and not Nevada Geothermal, which is the parent company. He said that Nevada Geothermal's debts would not affect the ability of the power plant to repay its obligations from the revenue it generates and that the power plant cannot be used as collateral for any other debt.

"What matters is that the power generated by the Blue Mountain plant -- and the revenue generated under its long term guaranteed sales contract -- will be enough to repay the loan," Leistikow wrote. "The Blue Mountain project is not only producing clean power and paying back the government -- it is helping us build a growing new industry and can help pave the way for many similar projects across the Western United States."

Heller said he has not talked to Reid about Nevada Geothermal and that he is interested in finding out more about the company's current fiscal situation.

In the meantime, Heller believes Energy Secretary Steven Chu should testify before Congress about the loan program as part of an ongoing House Energy and Commerce Committee investigation into the Solyndra deal.

But the senator, who serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said he was not ready to call for a separate investigation into Solyndra in the Senate.

"I think what we'll do is we'll watch the House and see what the House does and make the determination at that point if further hearings are necessary," he said.