The case of the 2-inch toad, the President and the blocked geothermal plant

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By Trey Thoelcke Updated Published
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The case of the 2-inch toad, the President and the blocked geothermal plant

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(A native of England, veteran journalist Matthew Diebel has worked at NBC News, Time, USA Today and News Corp., among other organizations.)

Hopping mad! When a tiny toad and renewables collide.

Meet the Dixie Valley toad. It’s kinda cute, with gold-colored flecks over a mostly olive body. The adult version is just over two inches long. It only lives in one place — 760-acres of wetland fed by hot springs in the remote Dixie Valley of west-central Nevada — and it’s listed as endangered, having been identified as a separate species just six years ago.

And it has single handedly halted a giant geothermal plant.

Yup, the nation’s largest geothermal power company, Reno-based Ormat Technologies $ORA , has found its plan to develop a facility that could supply climate-friendly electricity to the area, notably neighboring California, stymied by the diminutive amphibian. Federal officials have said they are worried the project could either drain the toads’ terrain, leaving them high and dry — and dead — or heat up or cool the water so much that they’d perish. Or all of those things…

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Photo of Trey Thoelcke
About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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