US DOE Investing in Geothermal Research and Development

On June 23, 2011, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it will be funding eight geothermal projects in five states. The announcement was made by US Energy Secretary Steven Chu. The eight projects in five states (California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Texas, and Utah) have been selected to receive up to $11.3 million to support the research and development of pioneering geothermal technologies.

The projects selected will foster innovation in the technologies and methods used to generate geothermal energy, which will help strengthen US energy security and increase America's competitiveness in the global clean energy economy. Continued innovation and technical advances will also help geothermal energy to play an important role in achieving President Obama's goal of generating 80 percent of US electricity from clean energy sources by 2035.

"Through these eight projects, the Department of Energy is investing in new technologies that will further develop the nation's geothermal resources and help diversify our energy portfolio," said Secretary Chu. "By investing in geothermal research and development, we are investing in our nation's energy future and creating opportunities for energy innovation in the US."

The projects aim to develop fundamentally new ways of producing electricity from the Earth's heat. Selected projects will conduct feasibility studies in Phase I, including technical and economic modeling and component design for technologies that recover geothermal heat for electricity production. If selected for Phase II, projects will then validate the designs in real-world environments. The selected projects are part of the Department's comprehensive efforts to reduce the cost of geothermal energy to be competitive with conventional sources of electricity.

Selected awardees are as follows:

GeoTek Energy, LLC (Midland, Texas) - up to $2.85 million. The Gravity Head Energy System project will study the technical feasibility of a new generation of gravity-driven downhole pump.

Gtherm, Inc. (Westport, Connecticut) - up to $200,000. The Single Well Engineered Geothermal Systems project will investigate the technical feasibility, heat extraction potential, and cost impact of a single well geothermal system.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley, California) - up to $4.99 million. The Geothermal Energy Coupled with CCS: Heat Recovery Using an Innovative High Efficiency Supercritical CO2 Turboexpansion Cycle project will develop new ways to produce electricity from superheated and pressurized carbon dioxide (CO2) in deep geothermal formations.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore, California) - up to $874,000. The Active Management of Integrated Geothermal - CO2 Storage Reservoirs: An Approach to Improve Energy Recovery and Mitigate Risk project will study the technical and economic feasibility of integrating geothermal energy production with carbon capture and storage.

Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) - up to $997,000. The Zero Mass Withdrawal, Engineered Convection and Wellbore Energy Conversion project will evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of technologies that circulate reservoir fluids to increase heat extraction.

Physical Optics Corporation (Torrance, California) - up to $200,000. The Heat Extraction from Geothermal Systems project will investigate the technical feasibility, heat extraction potential, and cost impact of an innovative wellbore condenser technology. This technology converts hot vapor into cooler liquids at high efficiencies, which could help generate greater geothermal power.

Terralog Technologies USA, Inc. (Monrovia, California) - up to $541,000. The Advanced Horizontal Well Recirculation Systems for Geothermal Energy Recovery project will investigate and develop advanced geothermal well designs that optimize combinations of vertical and horizontal wells.

University of Utah (Salt Lake City, Utah) - up to $671,000. The Novel Development of Geothermal Systems in the United States project will assess the electric generating capacity, economics, and environmental impacts of developing deep sedimentary and crystalline reservoirs throughout the entire United States.

DOE's Geothermal Technologies Program works in partnership with U.S. industry to establish geothermal energy as an economically competitive contributor to the U.S. energy supply. For more information about the program and selections, see the Geothermal Technologies Program's website.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Enhanced Geothermal Systems Conference 2011

On June 29th - 30th 2011, eyeforenergy is holding its second annual Enhnaced Georthermal Systems (EGS) Conference in San Jose, California. Geothermal is a promising renewable resource that has a very bright future.

Geothermal energy is a safe and reliable renewable power source that can produce energy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The aadvantages of geothermal power include the fact that it produces little or no greenhouse gases. Geothermal energy will also create high-paying, long-term jobs. In 2008, the geothermal industry accounted for 25,000 jobs.

EGS offers the ability to improve existing geothermal wells to increase productivity. EGS also offers increased energy production by producing geothermal energy in new environments and at various depths.

However, geothermal energy is costly, technically challenging and socially sensitive. So far EGS has relied on government funding worldwide.

EGS claims a big slice of the $600 million of the federal stimulus for geothermal development over the next two years.

According to the organizers of the EGS event, now is the time to analyze and discuss whether geothermal energy will move away from this reliance and will eventually attract private investment. With the likes of Google.org already heavily encouraging EGS it certainly looks promising.

There are huge opportunities for geothermal contractors wanting to establish themselves in this rapidly growing industry.

The EGS Conference is subtitled "Push your EGS project forward by developing an effective Financial, technological and socio-economic strategy."

At the 2nd Annual Enhanced Geothermal Systems Conference attendees will receive:

• Unique global updates: Learn from the successes and challenges of our global experts to increase the realization of your EGS project
• Latest financial analysis: Listen to the top financiers in the industry to deliver the most powerful business case to secure future investment for your project
• Support from your community: Hear from the key stakeholders to understand how and why you should plan an effective socio-economic strategy
• Maximise profits: Understand the benefits of developing an EGS as an upgrade to your existing plant to effectively utilise all your resources and increase productivity
• Technology breakthrough: Get the latest technology advances for reducing fracturing, exploration and drilling risks to save costs throughout your project

This is a must-attend event for all future and current developers who want to make their EGS projects commercially viable in the future and all contractors who want to establish their EGS position early to give their business first mover advantage when the market explode.

Attendees of the EGS event will benefit from the following:

• The latest case studies worldwide from AltaRock, GreenFire Energy, EGS Energy, GNS
• Science to learn from their challenges and successes to remain at the forefront of the industry.
• A discussion on the discuss future government and private initiatives from BLM, Google and GeothermEx Inc.
• Speak to conventional geothermal utilities including Magma Energy and Southern company
• Meet the key regulators and utilities and hand pick the latest technology from our pool of contractors including URS, Potter Drilling and ThermaSource to drive costs down for your project.
• By all accounts, last years EGS Conference was a success, here are some of the things that people had to say about the event:

"Last year’s EGS Conference and Expo provided an excellent basis for understanding the regulatory snares facing EGS development," said Mark Walters, Senior Geologist, Calpine Corporatio

"That conference was one of the best I have attended in many years all the presentations were spot on and clear," Michal Moor, Senior Fellow, ISEEE

Some of the companies that attended last years event included:

Google

Department of Energy

Thermasource

Geodynamics

Northern California Power Agency

Geothermal Resources Council

Lawrence Berkely National Labs

US Geothermal

Geothermex

Geothermal Advisory Pty

GE Global Research

Milbank

Resourcive Capital

Click here to download two of the keynote presentations from last year (Susan Petty, President, AltaRock and Michael Moore, Senior Fellow, ISEEE).These presentations will provide you with unique insight into the development of EGS in the US and the potential it has for future energy production.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Geothermal Stock Review

Geothermal offers abundant energy with minimal environmental impact and it is located right beneath our feet. Geothermal systems use the Earth's stable ground temperature to heat in winter and cool in summer. Geothermal, (also know as Geoexchange) has been recognized by both the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy as the "most efficient and environmentally friendly way to heat and cool a building." The downside of geothermal has always been the large up-front cost associated with the ground loop.

Obama's massive energy overhaul of federal buildings may justify the the up-front cost given the savings provided by geothermal in the long term. In addition, a new federal tax credit for geothermal systems was passed in 2008 (10% for commercial installations, $2000 for residential), which serves as an additional stimulus for the growing private sector market.

This is an opportune time to consider geothermal investments. Here are 4 geothermal companies located in North America.

Geothermal Heat Pump Stock Picks

Waterfurnace Renewable Energy (WFIFF.PK): Waterfurnace manufactures heat pumps for both residential and commercial buildings. According to their third quarter financial statements, the company is in good shape from a liquidity perspective. They eliminated an unused line of credit in the quarter, paid off the balance of outstanding bonds they had used to build their facilities and their current assets exceed total liabilities. Their cash flow from operations is growing. Waterfurnace paid a dividend of over 3%.

LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU): Their climate control division, which includes heat pumps and air handling systems, accounts for about 41% of sales. LSB has a strong balance sheet and their current assets exceed total liabilities. Both Waterfurnace, LSB boast strong balance sheets and inexpensive valuations. They are likely to receive a boost from the stimulus package.

Nevada Geothermal Power (NGLPF.OB): Although Nevada Geothermal is currently unprofitable, their Blue Mountain geothermal project has sufficient financing to take it to production, which the company expects near the end of 2009. As the expectation of revenue draws nearer, expect the stock price to appreciate.

Raser Technologies, Inc. (RZ): Raser is an energy technology company focused on geothermal power development and technology licensing. It has an innovative business model for developing geothermal power plants. Using United Technologies's modular PureCycle turbines, they can start development of a geothermal site with only a 10MW plant, and then expand rapidly. They are currently commissioning their first project, consisting of 50 PureCycle units in Utah. Having recently raised $20M in new equity capital, Raser appears to be adequately funded in 2009. This should be long enough for them to start earning revenues.

Geothermal's simplicity comes with low operating cost and low environmental impact, it has a long life expectancy and requires very little maintenance. It is a system that pays for itself in a short number of years. Geothermal is an efficient means of reducing our reliance of fossil fuels and the noxious emissions that come with them.

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