Archive for December, 2009
White House looks to tripple clean energy tax credit
In Washington, DC, the White House proposed to add $5 billion to the clean energy tax credit, raising the cap of the present program, enacted in February from $2.3 billion. The proposal, which came out of the office of Vice President Joseph Biden, is another the administration effort to encourage investment in wind, geothermal and [...]
Geothermal registered strong growth in 2009
In Washington, DC, a new, year-end report from the Geothermal Energy Association said that state and federal policies in 2009 resulted in significant growth that places geothermal at the forefront of renewable energy. The association found that despite the recession, the geothermal energy industry added 750 full time jobs and 2,827 construction-related jobs. About $800 [...]
Sierra appoints new director
In Canada, Sierra Geothermal Power Corp. appointed Bryan Bertacchi, MBA, P.Eng, to its Board of Directors. Bertacchi replaces director Joel Ronne who voluntarily resigned from the Board on December 13 but will continue to act as Sierra’s Chief Operating Officer. Bertacchi has more than 25 years of experience in the power sector, including 10 years [...]
Ram starts Nicaragua plant expansion
In Nevada, Ram Power, Corp. said it has started the on-site construction of the 36 MW Phase 1 expansion at the San Jacinto-Tizate geothermal power project near Leon, Nicaragua. It is the first of two phases designed to expand production of the site to 46 MW from its current 10 MW, and ultimately to its [...]
Cornwall project answers Basil question
In England, Geothermal Engineering Ltd, which intends to build a geothermal energy power plant in Corwall played down safety concerns after a similar project in Basil Switzerland was cancelled due to earthquake fears. The company’s managing director Ryan Law said the earthquakes could not be repeated in Cornwall because “Cornwall is very different”. He [...]
Sierra updates Reese River, Alum and Barren Hills projects
In Canada, Sierra Geothermal Power Corp. updated its Reese River, Alum and Barren Hills Projects located in Nevada, noting in particular that the Reese River thermal anomal is larger than previously thought. The company did not give a new size estimate, but said that 7,000 ft of new shallow exploration holes provided the data. At [...]
G4G Resources to acquire Argentina GT property
In Canada, G4G Resources Ltd. said it will acquire 100% of Area Geofisica ENG s.a.’s Anetta geothermal property in Salta province, Argentina. The property covers 6,555 hectares and is located 105 miles south of the city of Salta, the province’s capital. Anetta is characterized by surface occurrences of hot water, with temperatures ranging from 50 [...]
Dilling of Paralana 2 well completed
In Australia, the Paralana 2 geothermal well of Petratherm’s Paralana geothermal energy project in South Australia has been completed to a depth of 12,200 ft. Temperature measurements will be taken in mid to late January after the geothermal well has time to stabilisze. Drilling reduces existing temperatures. The project is on track in its [...]
Privitization delay of Leyte geothermal plants urged
In the Phillipines, Energy Development Corporation (EDC) executive vice president Ernesto B. Pantangco is proposing to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) to delay the privatization of the the Unified Leyte geothermal plants’ supply contracts to around 2012. Pantangco said the seller will gain more leverage if there is some degree of [...]
The Geysers back story: AltaRock closes E-7 work but the beat goes on
The third week of December saw stories across the globe on the cancellation deep-drilling geothermal projects in Basel City, Switzerland and – ostensibly – by AltaRock Energy at The Geysers in California. Reports implied that all projects of this type and even AltaRock itself were in serious jeapordy. Geothermal Digest spoke to both AltaRock CEO [...]
