News
Dec 20, 2009Magma Energy Corp (TSX: MXY) CEO Interview
Wall Street Reporter conducts an interview with Magma Energy Corp’s CEO Ross Beaty. Click here to listen to the podcast.
CanGEA member, Magma Energy Corp., is engaged in operating, developing, exploring and acquiring geothermal energy projects in North, South and Central America. Its projects include five advanced stage exploration properties and 12 early-stage exploration properties located in the United States, Chile, Argentina and Peru. Magma’s five advanced stage properties are the Maule Property located in Chile, the McCoy, Panther Canyon and Desert Queen Properties located in Nevada and the Thermo Property located in Utah. On October 3, 2008, Magma acquired a 100% interest in the Soda Lake Operation located 11 kilometers northwest of the City of Fallon, Nevada. In January 2009, Magma purchased the Whitehorse Property in Nevada.
Dec 14, 2009
Sierra Geothermal Power Announces Director Appointment
Vancouver, British Columbia – Sierra Geothermal Power Corp. (TSX-V: SRA) announced today the appointment of Mr. Bryan Bertacchi, MBA, P.Eng, to its Board of Directors. Mr. Bertacchi replaces director Mr. Joel Ronne who voluntarily resigned from the Board on December 13, 2009. Mr. Ronne will continue to act as Sierra’s Chief Operating Officer.
Mr. Bertacchi has more than 25 years of experience in the power sector, including 10 years in the geothermal industry with Calpine Power Company. Mr. Bertacchi was Area Executive and Vice President for the Calpine Western Region and was Chief Operating Officer of Calpine Power Income Fund, at the time a Calgary-based, Toronto Stock Exchange-listed trust. Mr. Bertacchi has extensive experience in geothermal project development, geothermal plant operations and maintenance, working with elected officials, Original Equipment Manufacturers, engineering firms, Engineering Procurement Construct contractors, lenders and rating agencies and extensive experience within the California Market.
“Mr. Bertacchi is an excellent addition to our Board of Directors. His geothermal and technical background nicely complements the broad capabilities of our existing directors. Mr. Bertacchi experience will be extremely valuable as we move closer to becoming an independent power producer by 2012,” said Gary R. Thompson, President and CEO of Sierra Geothermal Power. “On behalf of the board, I want to personally thank Mr. Ronne for his years of service as a director of SGP and look forward to his continued contributions in his role as COO.”
Since 2008, Mr. Bertacchi has been the CEO of Danville, California-based Radback Energy Inc., a project development company specializing in conventional and renewable resources. Radback Energy was contracted by Pacific Gas and Electric Company of San Francisco to permit its new Humboldt Bay 163 MW power plant which is now under construction in California. Radback also has a contract with Pacific Gas and Electric Company to develop and construct a new 600 MW power plant in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Prior to his role as CEO of Radback Energy Inc., from 2005 to 2007 Mr. Bertacchi was employed directly by Pacific Gas and Electric Company and by Northern California Power Agency. His service as a Vice-President of California-based Calpine Power Company was from 1999 to 2005. In addition, from 2001 to 2005 he was concurrently the COO of Calgary-based Calpine Power Income Fund.
Mr. Bertacchi is a registered Professional Engineer (Mechanical) in the state of California. He completed his undergraduate studies in Electrical Engineering from California Polytechinic State University and graduated with a Master of Business Administration from Saint Mary’s University in 2005.
Mr. Bertacchi’s appointment is subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.
About Sierra Geothermal Power Corp
Sierra Geothermal Power Corp. is a renewable energy company focused on the exploration and development of clean, sustainable geothermal power. The Company is based in Vancouver, British Columbia and listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol SRA. Its portfolio of geothermal projects located in Nevada and California exceeds 365 square kilometres or 90,000 acres and has a combined total estimated capacity of greater than 500 MW. SGP intends to finance development by utilizing a combination of corporate equity, joint venture partnerships and project debt, with the support of US government grants and loan guarantees. To find out more about Sierra Geothermal Power Corp. (TSX-V: SRA) visit our website at http://www.sierrageopower.com.
To view this article click here.
Dec 14, 2009
Magma Energy Completes Purchase, Totaling 815 MW at HS Orka’s Properties
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA—(Marketwire)—12/14/09—(All amounts in US dollars unless otherwise stated and all production figures are approximate)
Magma Energy Corp. (TSX: MXY) Magma Energy Corp. announces that it has closed a previously announced agreement to acquire 32.32% of Iceland geothermal company HS Orka for 3.7 billion ISK (approximately $29.5 million) and three bonds totaling approximately $70 million repayable in a single installment in 7 years with interest at 1.52% per annum. Magma now holds a 40.94% direct interest in HS Orka and an option to acquire an additional stake in HS Orka by making a capital infusion of $15 million into HS Orka prior to November, 2011. A further agreement to purchase a 2.16% stake in HS Orka is expected to close in March, 2010.
Magma has received an independent report on HS Orka’s properties by Mannvit Engineering, a large Icelandic engineering firm specializing in geothermal energy engineering. The report estimates the following reserves and resources on HS Orka’s properties (100% basis): a Proven Reserve of 175 MW, an Indicated Resource of 140 MW and an Inferred Resource of 500 MW. The reserve and resource estimates have been prepared in accordance with the Code for Geothermal Resources and Reserves Reporting (the “Code”) 1st Edition: 2008, published by the Australian Geothermal Energy Association. The report was prepared by Mannvit Engineering’s Arnar Hjartarson and Dr. Johann Gardar Einarsson, who are responsible for its content and are “Competent Persons” under the Code.
Magma’s CEO Ross Beaty said, “I am really pleased we have completed this transaction, which will boost Magma’s direct and indirect geothermal power production to 86 MW and its geothermal resources to approximately 600 MW. We will now focus on helping HS Orka expand its power production by 230 MW by 2015. This will boost Magma’s attributable geothermal power production to 186 MW and provide a more robust tax and employment base for the Icelandic economy.”
About Magma Energy Corp.
Magma Energy Corp. is a geothermal power company which operates, develops, explores and acquires geothermal energy projects. We have an extensive portfolio of properties throughout the western United States, Iceland and Latin America, including one operating power plant in Nevada and an interest in two other operating power plants in Iceland.
About HS Orka
HS Orka is the largest privately owned energy company in Iceland. Installed geothermal power capacity is 175 megawatts (“MW”) from the Svartsengi and Reykjanes power plants. In addition, HS Orka generates 150 MW of thermal energy for district heating. Expansions are planned that will increase HS Orka’s geothermal power production to 405 MW by 2015. HS Orka’s 75 MW Svartsengi plant began production in 1978 and its 100 MW Reykjanes plant began production in 2006. Much of the power is sold under US dollar contracts to a large aluminum smelter that is one of the world’s lowest cost aluminum producers. The expansion plans of HS Orka will provide power to a new aluminum smelter that is currently under construction.
About Iceland’s Geothermal Industry
Iceland has one of the world’s largest and best developed geothermal industries, supported by substantial geothermal resources and a highly skilled domestic workforce. Geothermal energy accounts for 23% of Iceland’s electricity demand and powers many of Iceland’s homes and businesses, including Iceland’s large aluminum industry. Over 50% of Iceland’s total energy consumption is provided by geothermal through electricity and direct use.
Dec 12, 2009
Geothermal Industry Seeing New Investments
In October of 2008, Alexander Richter wasn’t sure he would have a job when he returned home to Iceland from a geothermal conference in Nevada. As director of global geothermal development at Glitnir Bank—one of Iceland’s three main banks that was nationalized that month—he was staring into a bleak and uncertain future. And so was the rest of the geothermal industry.
Just one year before, Glitnir announced plans to invest over a billion dollars in the U.S. Geothermal market through 2012. That would would have represented roughly 10 percent of all investment in the country. Richter and his colleagues were excited by the new growth that was occurring in the U.S., a market that had been dormant for more than a decade.
By the following fall, however, Glitnir was swept up in a perfect storm of financial troubles, resulting in a government take-over and forcing the bank to scale back investment plans in the U.S. It was a big blow to the industry, but it was just the beginning. Around the same time, many other financial institutions pulled out of the debt and equity markets, leaving the hot geothermal industry in the cold.
“It was a surreal experience, to say the least,” says Richter. “No one knew what would happen.”
A year later, in 2009, Richter wanders the aisles of the same conference in Reno, smiling warmly at passersby and stopping occasionally to greet people in their booths. He seems remarkably happy for a person who’s been stuck in the middle of the worst financial crisis in 80 years.
It turns out that Richter didn’t lose his job. Over the last 12 months, as many of his friends and colleagues were tossed out of the banking world, he and a few other members of the former geothermal team were kept together to manage sustainable energy investments for the bank, now called Islandsbanki. Although the team has substantially scaled back operations, they are still very focused on the U.S. geothermal market.
“Naturally there are limitations to what we can do, but there’s an interest by the [Icelandic] government and our creditors to continue our work,” says Richter. “We’ve always believed strongly in the geothermal sector, and we have continued to stay in the industry in various ways.”
For the Islandsbanki team, that has meant focusing more on advisory-related services rather than directly investing in companies and financing projects. Richter says that the bank plans to announce more debt-finance activity in the coming months. In the meantime, the sustainable energy team at Islandsbanki watches the U.S. geothermal market — the world’s largest — eagerly awaiting the day when it can play a more active role.
“Very clearly we are looking to the U.S. This is a very mature market…you have a pipeline of projects that is impressive,” says Richter.
According to figures from the Geothermal Energy Association and Islandsbanki, the number of projects in development throughout the U.S. increased by 60 percent in 2009, to 144. If those projects go forward, the U.S. could add another 6,400 MW of capacity in the next five years, resulting in almost 10 GW of total capacity. That’s equal to today’s global installed capacity.
If history is any guide, there is a good chance that up to a quarter of those projects will not get completed. Factor in the tight debt and equity markets and that number could fall further still. Islandsbanki projects that more than $25 billion will be needed by 2014 in order to see those projects through.
In order to ensure that the industry stays strong through the ongoing economic downturn, the U.S. government has begun throwing hundreds of millions of dollars into the geothermal space in recent months. The impact of the stimulus funds are still unknown: Many companies may not qualify for certain pieces of the program because of how long it takes to build out projects. But recently announced funds are signaling investors like Islandsbanki that the U.S. is intent on continuing to build the geothermal industry.
“There are some uncertainties about if companies will be able to access some funds. But the stimulus shows us that the government is serious about geothermal. That can only be a good thing for attracting investors,” says Richter.
Geothermal can be a risky space to be in. It takes many years and many millions of dollars — sometimes three fifths of a project’s cost — just to explore a resource and drill a test well. That makes the industry particularly vulnerable to the conservative mindset in the financial markets.
Given that many of the projects underway in the U.S. and around the rest of the world today are relatively new, financing needs for the exploration and project feasibility stages are high. Therefore, many developers are in the tough position of asking venture capital and private equity firms for millions of dollars to determine the viability of a project.
“That’s where the risk is in this business, on the front end. You need investors who understand that risk and are willing to take it — and right now, not many are,” says Frank Monastero, President of Magma Energy, a rapidly-growing Canada-based geothermal developer. Once a resource is established, geothermal is a remarkably safe business to be in, says Monastero, who is also president of the Geothermal Resources Council. On average, geothermal power plants are online 95% of the time, creating a stable, predictable revenue stream for project owners. That is especially true in the U.S. where state renewable portfolio standards, federal tax credits, loan guarantees and cost-shared drilling programs are making geothermal an attractive investment for those willing to accept the risks in exploration. For those reasons, Magma Energy is focusing a lot of attention on the North American market, which is still seeing healthy growth despite many of the financial problems that companies are facing.
“Of course, the financial crisis has been difficult for everybody. But that doesn’t mean that growth has stopped. In fact, we’re seeing unprecedented demand for the power,” says Monastero. “Because of that we still see new entrants coming into the market and new partnerships to help finance projects.”
In the last six months, the industry has seen some consolidation as cash-hungry developers in the early development phases look for help. In August, Western GeoPower and Polaris Geothermal — two companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange — merged with Ram Power, another developer formed in 2008. Ram Power subsequently raised $165 million to finance projects in the U.S. and South America.
To read the rest of this article click here.
Dec 11, 2009
Geothermal Energy Potential in Kenya - Ormat developing projects through private equity
from Ratio Magazine
Kenya: Green Power Potential and Government Shortfalls
Tuesday, 08 December 2009
The two-day ‘Powering Kenya into a Green Future’ conference was very upbeat about Kenya’s renewable energy potential, but the reality of the Kenyan government’s commitment and, crucially, capacity to develop this sector is different. By Rachel Keeler.
Green energy for all and a solar water heater to be required by law in every urban building! The message, delivered by Kenya’s Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi, sounded so progressive. And the Hilton ballroom packed with international press, high-level donors and Raila Odinga’s personal entourage did not hurt either. Still, those who stayed after the cameras stopped flashing, to the very end of the two-day “Powering Kenya into a Green Future” conference held in Nairobi on 23 and 24 November 2009, encountered a less comforting picture of Kenya’s energy future.
The good news, delivered by the ever positive UNEP advisor John Scanlon, was that “Kenya is sitting on a gold mine of renewable energy resources”: 7,000MW of unexploited geothermal steam, plus extensive wind, biomass and solar capacity. The bad news is that most of these require substantial support from the government to achieve even moderate levels of production. And the only truly novel idea put out by the government at the conference was Murungi’s short-sighted solar requirement. Public officials instead spent most of their time asking donors and the private sector for the USD5bn the ministry has determined as necessary to develop these resources and make Kenya energy secure by 2014.
Energy security of any kind is really Kenya’s goal here; it just happens that renewable energy sources are indigenously prolific as well as cheaper in the long run and less susceptible to oil price fluctuations than the largely diesel-fueled thermal power that the country relies on now for 39% of its electricity. Customers in Kenya are keen to see an end to the thermal-related fuel cost surcharges that have come to make up a sizeable chunk of their power bills. But if you cut out thermal supplies, Kenya’s current generation capacity is a mere 924MW – stacked against a current peak demand of 1076MW that only accounts for 18% of the Kenyan population. Much of that capacity is also overly dependent on rain-fed hydropower dams that are unreliable during cyclical droughts.
The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) is, however, confident that generation capacity will double in the next five years – to just barely meet expected demand – as the result of 1557MW worth of power projects currently in the pipeline and scheduled for collective completion by 2014. Of this additional capacity, about 60% will be generated by renewable projects.
Many of these are notably wind generation plants, which the government credits itself with inspiring through setting workable feed in tariffs. There are a number of co-generation projects in the works as well, to follow the already successful production of 38MW from sugarcane waste by Mumias Sugar. The government has also been applauded for establishing the Geothermal Development Company (GDC). The parastatal is charged with taking on the up-front risk and extremely high capital costs involved in geothermal exploration that have long prevented private investors from approaching the sector in Kenya. Donors are eager to support these efforts, as they align with their own green ambitions for the continent. And local bankers say they view energy in Kenya as a good bet for project finance. Even on a relatively small scale: insiders say banks will line up to fund co-generation projects for big names like Mumias.
Management capacity within the Kenyan government is so woefully inadequate that progress on geothermal development – arguably the best hope for long run cost efficient energy security in the country – will be sluggish at best. KenGen has developed some geothermal expertise over the years and the government has now brought on American-based Geothermex as consultants. However, attracting investors will be tricky, experts say, because the steam they tap is not exportable like other natural resources (e.g. oil), and only a few companies in the world really have the capacity to develop it.
Finally, even if these projects can somehow be developed and managed well, the ability to raise the intended USD5bn is simply not there yet: The government has set up a KES500m green energy facility that it hopes will grow into a USD2bn revolving fund with help from donors. But donors have been cagey about just how much cash they have to contribute, and what they do have will necessarily come with time-consuming conditionalities. Private finance is still seen as generally too expensive. Ormat Technologies [CanGEA member], which has managed to develop several geothermal projects in Kenya, received some financing through private equity. That could be an option for other private developers, as well as funding from development financiers like the International Finance Corporation (IFC) or the African Development Bank (AfDB). But overall, the options are slim and the need simply too great.
The moral of the story? A quick fix is never available for such a grand and basic need as power. It will take decades for Kenya to achieve energy security because it is recovering from previous decades of government neglect. Demanding the installation of solar water heaters without any supportive incentives is a classic manifestation of the Kenyan government’s tiresome modus operandi: pushing costs onto consumers in an endless effort to make up for its own policy mistakes.
Dec 10, 2009
2009 CanGEA Investment Workshop & Networking Reception: Tremendous Success
The Canadian Geothermal Energy Association (CanGEA) would like to thank the speakers and attendees who attended the 2009 CanGEA Investment Workshop & Networking Reception, December 3rd, 2009, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. CanGEA considers the event a tremendous success having nearly 60 people attend the Workshop and Reception.
The 2009 CanGEA Investment Workshop & Networking Reception aimed to bring together investors, financiers and key stakeholders in the geothermal power industry to explore the wealth of opportunity in this emerging renewable energy sector. With an estimated potential of over 5,000 MW, from traditional development methods alone, geothermal power’s significance in Canada’s energy portfolio continues to grow. Geothermal energy in Canada represents an investment potential of nearly $20 billion.
Attendees were able to learn geothermal basics from CanGEA experts, explore prominent geothermal projects from industry leaders and understand geothermal development from a distinguished legal, finance and utilities panel. The Workshop also provided attendees with an overview of the Canadian Geothermal Reserves and Reporting Code aimed at improving investor confidence in the geothermal energy industry through the establishment of key metrics for geothermal value. The keynote speaker for the event was Dr. Michal Moore, co-author of the M.I.T. report “The Future of Geothermal Energy”.
Alison Thompson, CanGEA’s Chair and Founder, welcomed the news that the geothermal industry in Canada is finally on its way to 5,000 MW by 2015, as indicated by the conference updates on projects in Alberta, the Yukon, and the announcement about the upcoming British Columbia geothermal permit sale in 2010.
Notable attendees included: Magma Energy Corp., Sierra Geothermal Power Corp., Borealis GeoPower Inc., Enbridge Inc., Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, and more.
CanGEA expects to announce their 2010 Event, Workshop & Reception Calendar soon with prospective events being held in Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa. For those interested in any future CanGEA events please visit http://www.cangea.ca or contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
CanGEA would also like to thank Workshop sponsors Chevron Corp. and Dundee Securities Corp.
About CanGEA
CanGEA is a national, not-for-profit association that works on behalf of our members to facilitate and promote the responsible and sustainable growth of high temperature geothermal energy in Canada, which, we believe, can provide competitive, emissions free, renewable, base-load energy to Canadians and export markets.
For additional information please contact:
Brian Toohey
Media Relations Coordinator
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
http://www.cangea.ca
Dec 09, 2009
14 New Alternative Energy Stocks Added from Ardour Global Alternative Energy, includes Magma and Ram
Fourteen New Alternative Energy Stocks Added; No Stocks Deleted from Ardour Global Alternative Energy Index in Quarterly Rebalancing; Two New Stocks in Ardour Global Index (Extra Liquid)
The Ardour Global Alternative Energy Index℠ (TICKER: AGIGL) will add fourteen new components, effective 6:00 PM (EST) Sunday, December 20, 2009
New York, NY (PRWEB) December 9, 2009—The Ardour Global Alternative Energy Index℠ (TICKER: AGIGL) will add fourteen new components, effective 6:00 PM (EST) Sunday, December 20, 2009. No stocks will be deleted from the index, changing the number of index components to 125. The changes result from the quarterly rebalancing of the index.
Additions to AGIGL are: Capstone Turbine Corp. (TICKER: CPST US); Centrosolar AG (TICKER: C3O GR); Conergy AG (TICKER: CGY GR); Quantum Fuel Systems Technnologies (TICKER: QTWW US); Rentech Inc. (TICKER: RTK US); A123 Systems (TICKER: AONE US); Magma Energy Corp. (TICKER: MXY CN); STR Holdings (TICKER: STRI US); Duoyuan Global Water Inc. (TICKER: DGW US); Infigen Energy (TICKER: IFN AU); Ram Power Corp. (TICKER: RPG CN); Cropenergies (TICKER: CE2 GR); Lime Energy Co. (TICKER: LIME US); Veeco Instruments Inc. (TICKER: VECO US).
A complete list of constituents and weights will be posted on the AGI family of alternative energy indexes web site, (http://ardour.snetglobalindexes.com/about_the_indexes.php).
The Ardour Global Alternative Energy Index℠ is a capitalization-weighted, float-adjusted index of the most prominent alternative energy stocks in the world. To be included in the AGIGL index, companies must be pure-play and the stocks must pass multiple screens, including for capitalization, float, exchange listing, share price and turnover.
The Ardour Global Index℠ (Extra Liquid) (TICKER: AGIXL), which contains a fixed number of 30 stocks, had two additions against two deletions. VEECO Instruments Inc. (TICKER: VECO US) and SMA Solar Technology (TICKER: S92 GR) will replace JA Solar Holdings (TICKER: JASO US) and LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (TICKER: LDK US).
Detailed information, including constituent data, rules and price information, on the AGI family of alternative energy indexes is available at http://www.ardourglobalindexes.com. Data is also available through most vendors of financial data.
To view this article in its entirety click here.
Dec 03, 2009
Geothermal energy tests near Salton Sea OK’d - Ormat
Federal officials decided this week to let two Nevada companies explore 3,322 acres of public land near the Salton Sea for possible geothermal energy projects.
The “record of decision” allowing the exploration is an important step toward building a renewable-energy project on public land, said John Dalton, a Moreno Valley-based project manager for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which has jurisdiction over the property.
If the companies decide to build, the projects would then be evaluated in thorough environmental studies, Dalton said.
The companies potentially could generate 100 megawatts, said a BLM report. That would be enough energy for about 5,000 homes.
In the exploration phase, the companies would dig into the earth to take core samples and perform other geological analysis, said Wayne Gundersen, founder and manager of Reno-based Western Geothermal Partners LLC.
In 2005, the company applied to use 2,162 acres north of Bombay Beach in Imperial County for geothermal development.
The company has since focused on exploring six locations in Nevada, so it will need to find a partner to explore the Imperial County site, Gundersen said.
The BLM also gave the go-ahead to Ormat Nevada Inc., which applied to explore 1,160 acres east of the Salton Sea.
Because an earthquake fault in the area generates heat to create steam, the Salton Sea has huge geothermal potential, Gunderson said. Existing plants already produce enough power for more than 220,000 homes.
Utilities are seeking more power lines to carry electricity from desert solar, wind and geothermal projects to cities. Sunrise PowerLink plans a 120-mile transmission line from the Imperial Valley to San Diego. And the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power wants to link to the Salton Sea area’s geothermal fields.
To view this article in its entirety click here.
Dec 03, 2009
If you’re a trader, you must know the big trend in geothermal energy is finally heating up…
Geothermal energy is a way of producing electricity. At certain spots around the Earth, usually at the boundaries of tectonic plates, heat reaches the surface of the planet in the form of molten rock, or magma. The molten rocks heat the surface water, producing steam. Geothermal companies harness this steam to drive turbines and produce electricity.
I love simple businesses. Geothermal is the world’s simplest source of electricity. The power is cheap, it runs 24 hours a day, and it’s clean. These characteristics make geothermal the ideal energy source for politicians who want to show the voters they care about climate change.
A few weeks ago, the Department of Energy announced it was granting $323 million to 123 geothermal companies in 39 states. And just before that, it announced a program for geothermal companies to get cheap loans, guaranteed by the government.
But here’s the important thing: Geothermal is a profitable and economic business without government subsidies. The subsidies are just a bonus to pad our wallets.
As I told DailyWealth readers last month, geothermal is Rick Rule’s largest personal speculation. Rick is a legend in the mining and energy industry. He says you can normally make 10% returns from geothermal energy, but with the government’s subsidy, you can now make 18%-20% returns per year.
I’ve been waiting to get into geothermal until Ormat Technologies reached a major new high. Ormat is the elephant in the geothermal industry. It’s the industry leader with a market cap of almost $2 billion… You can’t develop a geothermal business in America without doing business with Ormat.
If there’s a boom in the geothermal business, Ormat’s stock will reflect it. Now, here’s where it gets interesting…
CanGEA member Ormat just broke to a new 13-month high.
To see this article in its entirety click here.
Dec 01, 2009
Ram Power Corp. executes Mandate Letter with IFC to arrange debt financing for the US $216M
“Ram Power Corp. executes Mandate Letter with IFC to arrange debt financing for the US $216M Phase II of 72 MW San Jacinto Tizate Geothermal Project in Nicaragua”
RENO, NV, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Ram Power, Corp. (TSX: RPG) (“Ram”), and its wholly owned subsidiary, Polaris Geothermal Inc (“PGI”), announced that they have executed a Mandate Letter with the International Finance Corporation (“IFC”), a member of the World Bank Group, under which IFC has proposed to arrange the debt financing for the US $216M Phase II of the San Jacinto Tizate Geothermal Project (“the Project”) in Nicaragua.
Under the non-binding terms of the Mandate Letter, IFC proposes to lend up to $40M for its own account and arrange for the balance on a syndicated basis. IFC has also indicated that it may consider providing an additional $20M in mezzanine debt or possible equity to the Project. The proposed timetable is for financial close to take place by June 2010. IFC’s role and financing are subject to approval by IFC’s Board of Directors.
Hezy Ram, CEO of Ram Power, Corp., said “We are very excited at the prospect of having the IFC as the lead for the debt financing of Phase II of the Project. With the use of Ram Power’s corporate equity, we have full confidence that we can expeditiously complete the construction and commissioning of the full 72 MW facilities by 2011 in satisfaction of our commitments under the Project’s Power Purchase and Concession Agreements.” He went on to say, “We are very proud to be the developer and operator of this state of the art geothermal project which will be the largest operating project in Nicaragua.”
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $14.5 billion in fiscal 2009, helping channel capital into developing countries during the financial crisis. For more information, visit http://www.ifc.org.
About Ram Power, Corp.
Ram is a renewable energy company based in Reno, Nevada engaged in the business of acquiring, exploring, developing and operating geothermal properties and has an interest in geothermal projects primarily in California, Nicaragua and Nevada. Its subsidiary, Polaris Geothermal Inc., is focused on developing projects in Latin America and the Caribbean and currently is operating a 10 MW plant on its San Jacinto concession in Nicaragua. Please visit our website at http://www.ram-power.com for more information.
Cautionary Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws including information regarding the business of Ram. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by this information. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. Ram, undertakes no obligation to update forward looking information, other than as required by law, or comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of Ram, or its financial or operating results or its securities.
SOURCE Ram Power, Corp.
