News
Jul 30, 2009CanGEA is on Twitter!
The Canadian Geothermal Energy Association (CanGEA) has launched their official Twitter account. Follow developments and news from the Canadian Geothermal Community through CanGEA’s Twitter account.
Follow: twitter.com/cangea
Jul 30, 2009
Obama Administration Announces Billions in Lending Authority for Renewable Energy Projects
Canada continues to fall further and further behind in renewable energy investment as proven by the Obama Administration’s support of renewable energy projects through loan gaurantees. Canada’s lack of investment into a green future is not only evident in a lack of funding for geothermal, but for all renewables, when compared to the United States.
Obama Administration Announces Billions in Lending Authority for Renewable Energy Projects and to Modernize the Grid
Loan Guarantees Will Help Create New Jobs while Fostering Clean Energy Innovation
Washington, DC – U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that the Department of Energy will provide up to $30 billion in loan guarantees, depending on the applications and market conditions, for renewable energy projects. Another $750 million will support several billion dollars more in loan guarantees for projects that increase the reliability, efficiency and security of the nation’s transmission system. The two new loan guarantee solicitations announced today are being funded partly through the Recovery Act and partly through 2009 appropriations.
“These investments will be used to create jobs, spur the development of innovative clean energy technologies, and help ensure a smart, strong and secure grid that will deliver renewable power more effectively and reliably,” said Secretary Chu. “This administration has set a goal of doubling renewable electricity generation over the next three years. To achieve that goal, we need to accelerate renewable project development by ensuring access to capital for advanced technology projects. We also need a grid that can move clean energy from the places it can be produced to the places where it can be used and that can integrate variable sources of power, like wind and solar.”
The lending authority includes:
- Up to $8.5 billion in lending authority supported by 2009 annual appropriations for renewable energy.
- Up to $2 billion in subsidy costs, provided by the Recovery Act, to support billions in loans for renewable energy and electric power transmission projects.
- Up to $500 million in subsidy costs to support loans for cutting edge biofuel projects funded by the Recovery Act.
- Up to $750 million in subsidy costs, provided by the Recovery Act, to support loans for large transmission infrastructure projects in the U.S. that use commercial technologies and begin construction by September 30, 2011.
The two solicitations issued today mark the sixth and seventh rounds of solicitations by the Department’s Loan Guarantee Program, which encourages the commercial use of new or improved energy technologies to help foster clean energy projects. Applications will be accepted over the next 45 days. The Department has streamlined its processes to accelerate processing these new loan solicitations. By investing in both renewable energy technology for generating electricity and technologies to modernize the country’s transmission system, the Recovery Act targets the full integration of renewable energy sources onto the electric grid.
More information on this solicitation and the Department’s Loan Guarantee Program can be found at http://www.lgprogram.energy.gov. Additional loan guarantee solicitations funded by the Recovery Act will be announced soon.
Jul 29, 2009
SolveClimate.com: “Report: Geothermal Could Be Cheap as Coal in 3 Years for $3 Billion”
Wind and geothermal power have generated a lot of buzz. Government research and development funding to boost them? Not so much.
That’s unfortunate, because these clean energy technologies have exhibited far higher cost efficiency than fossil fuels, a new report from the NYU Stern School of Business says.
To read the full article: click here.
Jul 29, 2009
Geothermal Lease Sale Generates $9 Million; 255,355 Acres Sold, Non-Competitive Parcels Remain
Congratulations to CanGEA corporate members Magma Energy, Oski Energy LLC and Ormat Nevada, Inc on their successful purchase at the Geothermal Lease Sale!
Geothermal Lease Sale Generates $9 Million; 255,355 Acres Sold, Non-Competitive Parcels Remain
A competitive Geothermal Lease Sale for parcels in California, Nevada, and Utah took place July 14 in Reno, Nevada. The sale generated more than $9 million in bonus bids and the average price per acre for parcels sold was higher than the BLM geothermal lease sale in December 2008. Yet, half of the parcels in Nevada sold for the $2/acre minimum and a roughly 25% of the parcels offered did not draw any bids and should become available non-competitively.
The sale generated $9,098,304 total in revenue for 255,354 acres, according to the BLM release. The high bid per acre was for a Nevada parcel in Churchill County at $3,800 per acre by Ormat Nevada Inc. The highest bid paid for a parcel was $2,649,150, also in Churchill County, by TGP Development Co. LLC, for 5,045 acres, according to the release. The results were:
• In Nevada, 82 of 108 parcels offered sold for a total of $8,909,445
• In California, all 15 parcels sold for a total of $131,126.
• In Utah, the parcel sold for $57,250.
According to the release, 50% of revenues from the lease sale - including bonus bids, rentals, and royalties collected on the leases - is distributed to the State in which the leased lands are located, and 25% is distributed to the counties where the leases are located. The remaining 25% is distributed to the BLM to be used for the processing of geothermal leases and geothermal use authorizations.
Following is a summary of the sale results:
Total Acres Offered: 334,842
Total Acres Sold: 255,354
Total Acres Offered in Nevada: 323,222
Total Acres Sold in Nevada: 243,727
Total Acres Offered in California: 11,399.05
Total Acres Offered in California: 11,399.05
Total Acres Offered in Utah: 228
Total Acres Sold in Utah: 228
Companies with winning bids in order of total acreage acquired:
1) Magma: 17 lease purchases for 67950.65 acres.
2) Ram Power Inc.: 8 Purchases for 32671.28 acres.
3) Allied Gold Corp LLC: 7 purchases for 25332.46 acres.
4) Standard Steam Trust LLC: 13 Purchases for 22033.67 acres.
5) Hallador Petroleum Co.: 4 Purchases for 19565.71 acres.
6) Geoglobal Energy LLC: 5 purchases for 19163 acres.
7) TGP Development Company LLC: 5 purchases for 17162.37 acres.
8) Oski Energy LLC: 5 purchases for 15,102.03 acres.
9) Minera Cerro el Diablo Inc.: 4 purchases for 6101.96 acres.
10) Presco Energy: 5 purchases for 5379.4 acres.
11) CalNorth Petroleum INC.: 7 purchases for 4480 acres.
12) Geothermal Technical Partners: 4 Purchases for 4320 acres.
13) Geo-Energy Partners: 5 purchases for 3199 acres.
14) Earth Power Resources Inc: 2 purchases for 2911 acres.
15) Ormat Nevada, Inc: 2 purchases for 1836.76 acres.
16) Geysers Power Company LLC: 1 purchase for 948.93 acres.
17) Renewable Energies LLC: 1 purchase for 228.04 acres.
Jul 29, 2009
BusinessWire: “New Study Finds Geothermal Energy the Most Efficient Renewable Energy Alternative…”
New Study Finds Geothermal Energy the Most Efficient Renewable Energy Alternative and Improving the Fastest
Press Release.July 15, Business Wire:
New York—As the Obama Administration pushed the energy bill through the House, government organizations and corporations are assessing renewable energy alternatives. Which are the most efficient and improving the fastest? According to a new study from NYU Stern, geothermal and wind energy are more efficient, and are yielding greater returns on the R&D invested in them, than most other renewable energy alternatives.
NYU Stern Professor Melissa Schilling, an expert in strategic management and technology and innovation management, finds that the cost of generating electricity with geothermal or wind energy is a fraction of the cost of solar energy. More important, the performance of both is improving much more per dollar of R&D invested in them than solar technologies. This is the first study to explore the trajectory of performance improvement of renewable energy alternatives.
She examined data on government R&D investment and technological improvement and found: Geothermal energy is the most efficient renewable energy alternative and is improving the fastest. Wind energy is second.
Fossil fuel technologies are no longer improving (in terms of efficiency) much - if at all. These technologies have likely reached their performance limits, though the government still spends far more on them.
Geothermal energy could become cheaper than fossil fuels with R&D spending of as little as $3.3 billion. Both geothermal and wind energy technologies have been underfunded by national governments relative to funding for solar technologies, and government funding of fossil fuel technologies might be excessive given their diminishing performance.
The full paper was recently published in Energy Policy and is available at: http://w4.stern.nyu.edu/news/docs/JEPO_Technology_S_Curves.pdf.
To speak with Professor Melissa Schilling about the study, please contact her directly at 212-365-0118 and .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) ; or contact Jenny Owen in NYU Stern.s Office of Public Affairs, at 212-998-0561 and .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) .
Jul 24, 2009
Dundee Capital Markets Update - Cleantech Chronicles
CanGEA Member Dundee Capital Markets has released their renewable energy update: Cleantech Chronicles.
To download the document click here.
Jul 22, 2009
Geothermal Power Companies Announce Intent to Combine Business to Raise $100MM in Equity Financing
Vancouver, Canada, July 15, 2009, GTO Resources Inc. (NEX:GTR.H) (“GTO”), Polaris Geothermal Inc. (“Polaris”; TSX:GEO), Western GeoPower Corp. (“Western”; TSX-V:WGP) and Ram Power, Inc., a private Delaware corporation (“Ram”) are pleased to announce that they have entered into a letter of intent dated July 14, 2009 (“LOI”) with respect to a proposed business combination to create a new, publicly-traded geothermal power company (the “Transaction”). The LOI is in addition to the letter of intent with Ram announced by GTO on June 30, 2009.
To read the full article: click here.
Jul 22, 2009
Dundee Capital Markets: Nevada Geothermal Power Equity Research
CanGEA Member Dundee Capital Markets has released an equity research report on Nevada Geothermal Power Inc.
To view the document: click here.
Jul 21, 2009
Foundation for Geothermal Innovation: “$10MM Prize for Geothermal Innovation”
The Foundation for Geothermal Innovation has announced a $10MM prize for geothermal innovation. The prize purse will be awarded to teams that design and build efficient and durable production-ready electric water pumps that can withstand the temperatures of the hottest geothermal wells, temperatures in excess of 400°F (200°C). This winner will also win a $75 Million sales contract for 100 next generation down hole geothermal pumps.
Endorsed by industry leaders like GRC, GEA and Google.org, it is also supported by the Australian contingency of the International Global Partnership for Technology, this project seeks to accelerate innovation and attention to “the forgotten renewable”. High temperature hydrothermal resources, and the commercialization of EGS is dependent on a robust down hole pump. In creating a global competition, innovation and lateral technology transfer will be focused on this discrete problem facing geothermal. Accomplishments to date include; technical analysis and validation as well as a market analysis. These findings have been published in a report following The Lemelson Meeting
(http://geothermalinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/the-lemelson-meeting.pdf).
Prize creator and Executive Director of the Foundation for Geothermal Innovation will be presenting an overview of the Challenge, with a short Q & A period. This talk is informal and largely non-technical. It is open to all. RSVPs are appreciated. Please direct them to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Jul 21, 2009
CanGEA Launches Online Store!
CanGEA is proud to announce the launching of their online store. The online store, run through cafepress.ca, features CanGEA branded clothing and accessories including; T-shirts, sweatshirts and coffee mugs. Support CanGEA and the renewable energy industry today by purchasing your own CanGEA merchandise! If you have any product you would like to see please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
To visit the online store: http://www.cafepress.ca/cangea
