AltaRock shuts down Geysers GT project

In California, coming on the heels of the Basel City Switzerland announcement, AltaRock Energy told the Department of Energy it will abandon its deep drilling project at the Geysers. The DOE was alreay reviewing the safety of the project learning that the company had not been completely forthcoming about the Basel quakes in making their case for the drilling in California. AltaRock recently received a $6 million DOE grant for the project and has attracted venture capital from high-profile investors, noteably Google. The company also has $25 million in federal grants for a project in Oregon, and there is speculation that it will focus its attention there.