News
Mar 08, 2010Ontario Calls on Federal Government for Climate Change Leadership
The Government of Ontario renewed its committment to the Green Energy Act and called on its Federal partner to show leadership on climate change in today’s speech from the throne. “Your government asks that our partner in Ottawa recognize and fund Ontario’s green revolution — which is already underway — just as it is funding carbon-sequestration research in other provinces” said the Honourable David Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
The Province’s Green Energy Act has attracted significant investment and generated thousands of jobs since its introduction. CanGEA is working to include geothermal energy in this progressive program to help Ontario transition to more renewable power generation and replace current base-load electricity sources such as coal fired plants.
For a copy of the Ontario Speech from the Throne please click here: Speech from the Thone
Together, CanGEA and its members can impart far more change than any single company. Join CanGEA and help us put Canada’s geothermal resources to work!
Mar 08, 2010
Federal green strategy goes from bad to worse
The Toronto Star today echoed the reaction of those in the renewable energy sector to last week’s Federal Budget. The article lays criticism on the Conservative’s plan to heavily fund nuclear technology while abandoning the largely successful EcoEnergy for Renewable Power program.
From the Toronto Star:
By Tyler Hamilton, Energy and Technology Columnist
Thud.
You hear that sound? That’s the sound of nearly half a billion taxpayer dollars landing on the doorstep of Atomic Energy Canada Ltd.
It includes the $300 million that showed up in the 2010 federal budget last week. That money will cover “anticipated commercial losses” and “continued development of the Advanced CANDU Reactor.” It will also help fund “safe and reliable operations at the Chalk River Laboratories.”
What was less visible last week was the $182 million that was squeezed into a supplementary estimate in the 2009 budget to address a cash shortfall caused by “unexpected technical challenges on Candu reactor refurbishment contracts.”
We’ve heard that one before.
Of that, about $72 million will go toward ongoing repair of an isotope-producing research reactor in Chalk River that has been shut down since May 2009. It brings the total for that fiscal year to more than $840 million. Over two years, we’re talking more than $1.1 billion.
This, by the way, is “investment” in a crown corporation with a commercial business the federal government is planning to sell off. So far, the best guess is that Atomic Energy’s Candu operation won’t fetch more than $300 million. Not quite the return on investment Canadians deserve.
So here we are, federal budget 2010, and what does the federal Conservative government also do? It lets a hugely popular renewable energy incentive program die, and it lets a highly respect clean-technology funding agency run dry.
Ottawa’s ecoEnergy for Renewable Power program was launched in 2007 to create an incentive for developers of wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal power projects. The four-year program, backed with $1.48 billion in funding, paid out 1 cent per kilowatt-hour for the clean electricity generated from participating projects.
The 1-cent incentive recognized, in the absence of a price on carbon, the emission-free profile of this power. It proved successful, so much so that all the money has been allocated a year ahead of schedule and two years before similar U.S. support comes to an end.
Last week’s budget, however, failed to extend – let alone expand – the program. “We’re perplexed,” said Mark Rudolph, spokesman for the Clean Air Renewable Energy Coalition. Its 22 members, by the way, include Shell Canada, Suncor Energy, TransAlta, ConocoPhillips Canada, and Enbridge.
Rudolph said the throne speech talked about the need to become a clean energy superpower and lead in green job creation, but the government is moving in the opposite direction.
And nuclear power, he said, won’t achieve either objective in the near term. “There is nothing ‘shovel ready’ about investing in nuclear technology,” said Rudolph, pointing out the long timeframes required for regulatory approvals. “You can’t build a reactor in 10 years.”
Ontario will do okay. It has a feed-in-tariff program that will keep investment here. But for the rest of Canada, the federal incentive is much more important. Rudolph fears investors will take their money and jobs to the much more certain U.S. market.
Robert Hornung at the Canadian Wind Energy Association speculated that the federal government is downloading responsibility in this area onto the provincial governments. “We are shocked and disappointed that it has chosen not to extend a cost-effective program that facilitated record levels of investment and job creation in Canada’s wind energy sector in the midst of the recession of 2009,” he said.
Let’s remember that these wind projects stretched across Canada, creating a more equitable distribution of investment and jobs. Contrast that with the carbon capture and storage projects that have attracted $500 million in federal government investment over the past year just in Alberta.
Meanwhile, Ottawa-based clean technology funder Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) was shut out of the budget. The federal agency began its mission in 2002 with a $550 million fund that’s nearly empty. It has requested a refill so it can continue what many consider a vital mission.
For every dollar of public grant SDTC awards to a clean-technology project it requires that another $2.40 come from project partners. The result has been a flow of more than $1 billion into up-and-coming clean technology companies. These are job creators of the future that might otherwise shrivel on the vine.
SDTC still has $80 million in the bank, so for the most part 2010 will be business as usual. The agency has been told by the feds to wait patiently for the next budget in 2011. So what the market is left with is more uncertainty.
There were some welcome tidbits in the federal budget. It devoted $100 million over four years to help the forestry sector deploy clean technologies to become more efficient. It threw in another $80 million to support residential energy retrofits.
It also expanded the list of clean technologies that qualify for accelerated capital cost allowances, which is considered a major tax benefit for investors in new equipment. Equipment used in industrial heat recovery and in district energy systems now qualify.
Still, as the Pembina Institute points out, the United States plans to outspend Canada 14-to-1 per capita on renewable energy and 2-to-1 on energy efficiency in fiscal 2010. Even then, there’s concern by some south of the border that the United States isn’t doing enough compared to China and some countries in Europe.
“It is through a failure to act that the United States will suffer economically,” according to a new report from the Center for American Progress, a liberal think-tank.
If the U.S. stands to suffer, then what does that mean for Canada?
Perhaps last week’s federal budget is being misread. For example, there is $2 billion going toward renewing Canada’s social housing stock, and $4 billion toward provincial, municipal and territorial infrastructure projects.
“These investments will create jobs and ensure that Canada emerges from the economic downturn with a more modern and greener infrastructure,” according to the budget.
Greener infrastructure? That would be encouraging, except for the lack of green strings that are tied to that $6 billion. For all we know, it could go toward building drafty houses and putting Band-aids on obsolete infrastructure.
Ever get the sense we’re walking the wrong way up an escalator?
To view this article in its entirety click here
Mar 07, 2010
BC Reopens Submissions for Geothermal Tenure Requests
For Immediate Release
Calgary, AB – March 7, 2010 – British Columbia’s Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources recently announced they will once again be accepting submissions for Geothermal Tenure requests. Previously the Ministry had been closed to such requests and had not issued a tenure permit since 2004.
This move signals a renewed committment to advancing the development of BC’s geothermal resources. Working with CanGEA and industry, the Ministry is striving to revise current legislation and streamline the geothermal tenure process. These actions should have a noticeable impact on the availability of land and the timely issuance of permits for the Province’s high quality geothermal resources.
Proponents are invited to submit their requests to the Ministry prior to April 1, 2010.
Together, CanGEA and its members can impart far more change than any single company. Join CanGEA and help us put Canada’s geothermal resources to work!
For more information on the tenure request process, please visit BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources
David Gowland
Policy Director
Canadian Geothermal Energy Association
Mar 07, 2010
BC Announces $100M for Clean Energy Initiative
For Immediate Release
Calgary, AB – March 6, 2010 – The Canadian Geothermal Energy Association (CanGEA) is pleased to see BC follow through on their commitment to clean energy with the release of the Province’s 2010 Budget. An additional $100 million will be earmarked for Clean Energy initiatives such as new forms of electricity generation, including wind, solar, geothermal, tidal, wave, and run-of-river applications. The specific mention of geothermal energy is a clear sign of the Province’s interest in this clean, renewable energy source.
However, of the $47 million that has already been committed to clean energy projects, no funds have been contributed to geothermal power projects. With such a high quality geothermal resource in the Province, BC is losing out on the vast benefits of geothermal power – including its ability to replace base-load energy sources and support the Province’s goal of 100% renewable power generation.
Furthermore, the geothermal industry in BC continues to fight an uphill battle as incentives for the Oil & Gas and Mining industries put geothermal energy development at a disadvantage. These incentives include;
• The extension of the Mining Flow-through Share Tax Credit Program
• Oil & Gas Stimulus Package and Royalty Relief Program for natural gas producers
• $51M for Oil & Gas Rural Road Improvement Program
To level the playing field similar incentives must be extended to the geothermal industry.
While CanGEA welcomes the Clean Energy Initiative, there remains much work to be done to advance the development of geothermal energy resources within the province.
David Gowland
Policy Director
Canadian Geothermal Energy Association
Mar 04, 2010
2010 Federal Budget Leaves Much to be Desired
The 2010 Federal Budget has failed to commit additional resources to the geothermal industry. Of particular note is the lack of a successor to widely successful EcoEnergy for Renewable Power program which provided incentives for renewable power generation. This program is now fully subscribed and no new funding has been announced in today’s budget. Furthermore, the Federal Government has failed to include funding for geosciences exploration and mapping, as well as support for geothermal drilling and access to capital through loan guarantees. Amongst these omissions there were however some glimmers of hope for the industry, including;
- A commitment to improve regulatory review process for major energy projects
- Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance for Clean Energy Generation equipment (including geothermal)
- Canadian Renewable and Conservation Expenses, which can be fully deductable or transferred to investors using flow-through shares
Undeterred by today’s disappointing 2010 Budget, CanGEA will continue to work with Government bodies to improve policies and accelerate the development of Canada’s geothermal industry
For more information on the 2010 Federal Budget click here
Together, CanGEA and its members can impart far more change than any single company. Join CanGEA and help us put Canada’s geothermal resources to work!
Mar 04, 2010
CanGEA Geothermal Reporting Code Investment Seminar - Groundbreaking Success
March 4, 2010
The Canadian Geothermal Energy Association (CanGEA) would like to thank the speakers and attendees who participated in the Geothermal Code Investment Seminar and Reception, March 3rd, 2010, in Toronto, Ontario making this event a tremendous success.
The day began with CanGEA and some of its members joining Ungad Chadda, Senior Vice President, Toronto Stock Exchange to open the market celebrating the launch of the Canadian Geothermal Code for Public Reporting.
After a short break The Geothermal Code Investment Seminar and Reception commenced which brought together investors, financiers and key stakeholders in the geothermal power industry, offering attendees a clear perspective of how the code will affect businesses in the geothermal community by implementing concise guidelines and infusing clarity to the process of public reporting of geothermal resources and reserves.
The seminar provided attendees with a complete overview of the Geothermal Code aimed at improving investor confidence in the geothermal energy industry. Speakers addressed the technical and financial implications of code presenting attendees with a clear vision on how the code will enhance the geothermal industry and companies listed on the Canadian exchanges.
Notable attendees included: Magma Energy Corp., Sierra Geothermal Power Corp., Borealis GeoPower Inc., Caldera Geothermal, Enbridge Inc., Mannvit Engineering, Nexen, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, and more.
CanGEA would also like to thank our sponsors Think GeoEnergy and CNW Group.
About CanGEA
CanGEA is a national industry association that works on behalf of our members to promote publicly listed companies on the Canadian exchanges as well as to facilitate 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 more information, please contact
The Canadian Geothermal Energy Association
Nicole Robson
Marketing and Membership Director
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Mar 04, 2010
Nevada Geothermal Power Progress Report on Blue Mountain Resource and Faulkner 1 Debt Financing
CanGEA member Nevada Geothermal Power provides us with an update on the Blue Mountain resource and Faulkner 1 debt financing.
Vancouver, B.C. (March 4, 2010), Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. (NGP) (TSX.V: NGP, OTCBB: NGLPF) announced today that interim power production from the Faulkner 1 geothermal plant has been increased from 13 MW (net) to 26 MW (net) with permanent cables installed to Turbine Generator Units One and Three. Cable repairs are expected to be fully completed to Unit Two and other electrical equipment on or before March 10, 2010 allowing the plant to be fully operational.
Newly drilled and tested, deep injection wells, 55-15 and 58-11, will allow production levels to be increased to between 36-40 MW (net) shortly after the Faulkner 1 plant is returned to full service.
New production Well 91-15, drilled to 8359 feet, is currently undergoing flow tests. Production pipeline and electrical service connections will take approximately 2 ½ months to complete. Thus plant output is expected to be significantly greater than 40 MW (net) by June 30, 2010.
Additional development drilling is continuing to test a target area southwest of the current production field.
John Hancock and the US Department of Energy (DOE) are continuing with their due diligence process to support a 20-year term senior debt financing and a related DOE Loan Guarantee. The results from the three new completed wells (55-15, 58-15 and 91-15) are to be incorporated into a resource update report by GeothermEx, Inc. which is a necessary component of the due diligence review. Thus, the expected date to complete the permanent financing is now the end of March, 2010.
Funding for all of the work described above is in hand and the program is within budget.
About Nevada Geothermal Power Inc.:
Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. is an emerging renewable energy producer and developer focused on producing clean, efficient and sustainable geothermal electric power from high temperature geothermal resources, in the United States. NGP currently owns a 100% leasehold interest in four properties: Blue Mountain, Pumpernickel, Black Warrior, all of which are ideally situated in Nevada, and Crump Geyser, Oregon. These properties are at different levels of exploration and development. NGP estimates a potential of over 200 MW from the current leaseholds.
To view this article in its entirety click here
Mar 03, 2010
Canadian Geothermal Energy Association Opens the Market
Alison Thompson, Chair and Founder, CanGEA & VP corporate Relations, Magma Energy and several CanGEA members including; Brian Toohey, Nexen, Lee Deibert, Meridian Environmental Inc, Gary Thompson, Sierra Geothermal Power Corp., Arnar Hjartarson, Mannvit Engineering, Dan Yang, Borealis GeoPower, John McIlveen, Jacob Securities Inc., Ian Tharp, Dundee Capital Markets, Tom Ryley, Beacon Head Energy Ltd., Peter Keeshan, Enbridge and Phillipe Tardif, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP joined Ungad Chadda, Senior Vice President, Toronto Stock Exchange, TMX Group to open the markets to celebrate the launch of the Canadian Geothermal Code for Public Reporting. The Code provides a minimum set of requirements for the public reporting of Exploration Results, Geothermal Resources and Geothermal Reserves. The Code will endeavour to provide a basis for transparency, consistency and confidence in the public reporting of geothermal information.
For more information about the code click here
Mar 02, 2010
Agent Of Change
CanGEA Member Ram Power Corp. is mentioned in the Financial Post article “Agent of Change”. When Ram Power was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in October it increased the total number of cleantech firms trading on Canada’s two main exchanges to 123, the most on any exchange worldwide.
From the Financial Post Magazine
David Pett, Financial Post Magazine
Ram Power Corp. wasn’t the only one celebrating after the Nevada-based geothermal power company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in October. The listing pushed the amount of equity financing for clean technology companies listed on the TSX and TSX venture exchange above $1 billion for the year. It also meant the total number of cleantech firms trading on Canada’s two main exchanges hit 123—the most on any exchange worldwide—with a market cap of around $12.5 billion.
For Nick Parker, the occasion was worth applauding but it must have been at least a little bittersweet. As the Toronto-based cofounder and executive chairman of Cleantech Group LLC, what he calls a “de facto industry association,” Parker would be pleased that such a milestone occurred in Canada. But he also thinks much more could be done in this country. Parker ought to know. He helped coin the term “cleantech” and is widely credited as one of the driving forces behind the push for sustainable technologies in Canada and around the world. Indeed, he must be doing something right. All told, Cleantech Group boasts more than 8,000 investors, 6,000 companies and 3,500 professional services organizations as members, representing more than $3 trillion in assets.
Most importantly, Parker’s group has changed the way the business community views cleantech by arguing that it makes good economic sense, not just good environmental sense, says Rick Whittaker, chief financial officer and vice-president of investment at Sustainable Development Technology Canada, a not-for-profit foundation that finances and support green technologies. “Normally, there is a conflict there, but Nick has stuck himself in the middle and said this is good for both sides,” says Whittaker.
A venture capitalist and a “light green” environmentalist for most of his life, Parker founded the Cleantech Group in 2002 with Keith Raab. It now has offices in Silicon Valley, Beijing, New Delhi, London and Ann Arbor, Mich., as well as Toronto. But back then, enviro-friendly technologies were often dismissed as “end-of-pipe” add-ons, such as smokestack scrubbers, that ate into margins and were largely implemented to meet government regulations or satisfy critics.
“They really didn’t jazz most investors and it wasn’t getting the attention of Silicon Valley or Wall Street,” Parker says. “We wanted to develop a whole new way of seeing technology and technological solutions that would help us do a lot more with a lot less, be more productive with resources, particularly with energy, and add economic value at the same time.”
To that end, Cleantech Group helped educate investors that clean technology was about more than developing wind, solar and geothermal energy: It also included energy storage such as fuel cells, energy efficient lighting and building materials, and recycling and waste-management technologies. The firm’s second objective—which Parker calls cleantech 2.0—was more concrete: building entrepreneurship levels, and attracting venture capital and other financiers to help get the technology out of the lab and into production.
Clean technology is now the largest venture-capital sector in the U.S., representing 27% of such funding, and Cleantech Group has been at the forefront of the industry’s growth by giving its members access to capital, investors, research and promotional opportunities, mainly through its global forums that have attracted influential speakers such as Hillary Clinton and Robert Bernard, Microsoft’s chief sustainability officer. Over the past seven years, companies have raised about US$1.6 billion at Cleantech Group events .
The firm also advises governments and large corporations, including A-list clients like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., software vendor Autodesk Inc. and France-based Veolia SE, one of the world’s biggest water managers.
But Parker is far from satisfied. He’s now onto cleantech 3.0, which is convincing business customers to adopt clean technologies. He also believes clean technology as an investment is nowhere near its full potential. In particular, he warns Canada is in danger of being left behind as more countries become committed to cleantech initiatives to secure jobs and the wealth creation that comes with it. “We are looking at the reformation of virtually everything we do, whether it’s designing a piece of furniture or designing an urban transit system,” says Parker. “This is a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity. This is the big time, but we haven’t fully grasped that here in Canada.”
Cleantech investment by the federal government pales in comparison to that of major Asian and European countries, as well as the United States. Canada earmarked just 8% of its economic stimulus spending for clean technology, compared with nearly 80% by South Korea and 34% by China. Even the U.S. allocated 11.5%. “We are not in the arena, let alone the game on the federal level,” Parker says. “There’s potential, but why are we bailing out ‘Government Motors’ when we could be partnering with next-generation Asian car manufacturers who want to make stuff happen here?”
Meanwhile, the TSX, despite its leadership position, is being chased by other major world exchanges such as the NASDAQ or NYSE that are actively soliciting companies looking for financing in China—the country Parker says will become the “Wal-Mart of cleantech.”
“The sheer size of this opportunity has not dawned on us here in Canada, because we don’t have recognizable political, corporate or financial leaders,” Parker says. “Where is the equivalent of Jeff Immelt from GE, or Lee Scott at Wal-Mart? We tend to talk the language of corporate social responsibility and environmental risk management, but that’s yesterday’s agenda. The rest of the world has moved beyond that.”
To view this article in its entirety click here
Mar 01, 2010
Sierra Geothermal Grants Stock Options
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA—(Marketwire - March 1, 2010) - Sierra Geothermal Power Corp. (TSX VENTURE:SRA) (“SGP”) announced that it today issued 1,800,000 10-year incentive stock options to its employees, officers and directors as follows:
- An aggregate of 100,000 incentive stock options to its recently appointed directors. These options vest immediately;
- An aggregate of 1,700,000 incentive stock options to its officers and employees.
All of the aforementioned incentive stock options were granted at an exercise price of $0.25 and are exercisable at any time up until the expiration of their 10-year term on March 1, 2020.
As a result of the granting of these incentive stock options, SGP now has 7,334,336 incentive stock options outstanding.
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. It 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 (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.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
Gary Thompson, P.Geo, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
To view this article in its entirety click here
