Geothermal

Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. (NGLPF) announced today that it has acquired 7 square miles of private land and has applied for a one section federal geothermal lease for a total land area of 8 square miles (22 square kilometers) south and east of Black Warrior Peak, Washoe County, Nevada. The leases are on private land and are subject to a 3.5% royalty on gross revenue from electricity sales, however, NGP can purchase the royalty for US$1,000,000. Leases include surface and water rights.

Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. (NGLPF) announced that Inovision Solutions Inc. (ISI), a TSX-V listed company, will fund up to C$5,000,000 in exploration and development expenditures for the Pumpernickel Geothermal Project under an option agreement to earn a 50% joint venture interest. In order to earn its interest, ISI must complete C$5,000,000 in project expenditures, make C$120,000 in cash payments and issue 600,000 shares to NGP over a five year period. In the first year, ISI must fund a C$400,000 work program, issue 100,000 shares and make a C$10,000 cash payment to maintain its option. NGP will be project...

Charles Morand In October 2007, Tom wrote an excellent overview of the geothermal power sector. By way of recap, geothermal power produces electricity by using steam from naturally-occurring Earth heat that travels up from the planet`s mantle and core by conduction. Conventional geothermal harnesses hot water and fluids already present in the rock while enhanced geothermal systems (ESG) - or next-gen geothermal - works by injecting cold water into hot dry rock (HDR) and pumping out resultant hot water and steam. In terms of business risks, geothermal stands at the confluence of mining and utility/independent power...

Tom Konrad CFA Hezy Ram Geothermal industry veteran Hezy Ram has worked in the industry for over three decades.  His career began with 28 years of experience at Ormat (ORA), where he was Executive Vice President of Business Development, after which he founded Ram Power Corp. (RPG.TO/RAMPF.PK) in 2009.  In February, he resigned as CEO of Ram Power shortly after the company warned of significant delays and cost overruns at a key Nicaraguan project, a move he says was motivated by irreconcilable differences with other board members and major shareholders regarding the company's strategy.  Today,...

Ormat Technologies (ORA) announced that two of its subsidiaries have entered into Supply and Engineering Procurement contracts for a new geothermal power plant to be constructed on Sao Miguel Island in the Azores. The contracts are for a total of 19,151,422 Euro (approximately $25 million), with construction on the power plant expected to be completed within 19 months from the contract date.

Colorado voters have approved an amendment requiring utilities to get part of their electricity from the sun, wind or plant and animal waste. The amendment requires the state's seven largest utilities to get a portion of their retail electricity sales from renewables, beginning with 3 percent in 2007 and climbing to 10 percent by 2015. Four percent of the renewables should be solar sources.

Tom Konrad CFA The most efficient way to heat and cool a building just got more efficient. Geothermal heat pump diagram via Bigstock Climatemaster, a division of LSB Industries (NYSE:LXU), recently announced that their new Trilogy 40 geothermal heat pump (GHP) had been certified by the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) to exceed 40 Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) under ground loop conditions. EER is the ratio of effective cooling (heat removed) to the energy used, at maximal load, and is the standard...

Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. (NGLPF) reported the completion of a geophysical survey at the Pumpernickel geothermal project in Nevada. The project is managed by Nevada Geothermal Power Company (a subsidiary of NGP), as Exploration Manager. The final report is pending, however a preliminary assessment of the data shows that the survey successfully defined the contact between the valley fill and the basement rocks, and most importantly it established the positions of valley faults and their relationship to the geothermal system. The data showed a good correlation with the 2005 resistivity data. The combined data will aid significantly...

A Great Deal for Plutonic Shareholders, Not bad for Magma Tom Konrad CFA As a shareholder of Magma Energy Corp. (MGMXF.PK), I'm reading through the joint information circular on the proposed merger of Plutonic Power Corp (PUOPF.PK) and Magma to form "Alterra Power Corp." I'm not thrilled with the merger, although I plan to vote for it, now that it's arranged. Overall, I think the merged Alterra will be a stronger company than either company alone. Both companies are in capital intensive niche Renewable Energy industries, so the added scale and diversification of Alterra should better...

Ormat Technologies (ORA) announced that it completed negotiations for two new 25 years Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) for the purchase of renewable energy from its geothermal projects at the Ormesa Geothermal Facilities Complex and the Heber Geothermal Facilities Complex. Ormat also announced that it celebrated the ground breaking and dedication of a new geothermal power plant within the Heber Geothermal Facilities Complex on Monday May 2, 2005. The new plant is dedicated to Mr. William R. Gould, who served as the Chairman of Southern California Edison (SCE) from 1980 through 1984,...

New York will dramatically boost its reliance on renewable energy sources like wind and water over the next nine years under a policy approved by state regulators Wednesday. Clean energy advocates and state officials said the action by the state Public Service Commission places New York among the leaders nationwide in the development of renewable energy. It comes 20 months after Gov. George Pataki first called for a statewide standard that would encourage the production of environmentally friendly energy.

Meg Cichon Geothermal well photo via Bigstock The renewable energy industry had quite a bit to celebrate this week as 2013 rang in a PTC extension that many had feared would never come to fruition. Though the extension to January 1, 2014 greatly benefits the wind industry, whose PTC was set to expire at the end of 2012, it also included a provision that could be huge for geothermal development. This provision states that projects under construction by January 1, 2014 would quality for the PTC, rather...

by Debra Fiakas CFA U.S. Geothermal (HTM:  AMEX) is scheduled to report third quarter 2013 financial results on November 15th, taking every day allowed to a public company to reveal the fruits and labors of a quarter.  There will be plenty to talk about in the conference call with analysts and investors.  USG closed a loan financing to support the first phase of its San Emidio geothermal power project in Nevada.  The loan valued at $30.7 million bears a fixed interest burden of 6.75% will replace a $25 million construction loan for the project and supply working capital...

From Small Fries to Big Shots? Part 1 of 2 by Bill Paul Feel like rolling the dice on some small alternative energy stocks that appear to have big-time potential? Just remember: sometimes you roll snake eyes. First up: World Energy Solutions Inc. (Symbol: XWES), which currently trades on NASDAQ for $3 and change per share. Worcester, MA-based World Energy Solutions operates online exchanges for energy and green commodities, including the one administered by Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Inc. (RGGI), the regulatory scheme under which 10 Northeastern and Middle Atlantic states "cap" their power plants' emissions by requiring...

Jennifer Delony Reno, Nev.-based Ormat Technologies (ORA) is seeking mergers and acquisitions that will help the company enhance its geothermal projects with energy storage technologies, Ormat CEO Isaac Angel said on Nov. 4. “On the storage solutions side, we are progressing well,” Angle said during a 3Q15 earnings webcast. “I’m very optimistic that we will be able to add a lot of MW … and profitability to our existing power plants.” Angle said that he also is optimistic that the company will secure a deal soon that will initiate Ormat’s energy storage strategy. “We’re almost there,” he said....

Tom Konrad CFA Holders of Ram Power Corp. (TSX:RPG, OTC:RAMPF) on November 26 (the “record date”) will be receiving valuable coupons as the result of the company’s rights offering, announced November 18th. Just in time for the holidays, these coupons, or “rights” can be used to buy additional shares of Ram Power for 8¢ Canadian per share any time before  5pm on December 23rd. (Disclosure: I am long Ram Power stock.) Holiday shoppers looking for more traditional gifts will be able to raise a little cash by selling the rights on the Toronto Stock Exchange,...