Geothermal

Ormat Technologies (ORA) announced that the customer rendered final approval of the Purchase Order valued at approximately $16.9 million, for the supply of 102 remote power units for Communications and Cathodic Protection along a pipeline on the Sakhalin Island in the Russian Federation, as described in the press release dated December 9, 2004, and the Purchase Order became a definitive agreement.

Ormat Technologies (ORA) announced that through a newly established project subsidiary, it has entered into a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with an electric utility according to which ORMAT will supply approximately 22 MW from recovered energy generation power plants. The power plants are to be constructed by ORMAT between 12 and 18 months from the effectiveness of the PPA. The power plants will be constructed on gas compressor stations along a Natural Gas pipeline in the Midwestern United States.

Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. (NGLPF) is pleased to report on recent flow and injection testing of Deep Blue No.2 (DB-2) which penetrated the upper reaches of the geothermal resource, and an eight-hole temperature gradient drilling program at the Blue Mountain project in Nevada. The program has provided positive information on production capability of the inferred resource and expanded the known extent of the thermal anomaly.

As mentioned in a previous entry, the Pennsylvania legislature passed SB1030, the Alternative Energy Bill, on November 20, 2004 which will require a total of 18% of Pennsylvania's electricity to be generated by alternative energy sources by 2020. The standard requires 8% of Pennsylvania's electricity to be generated by so-called "Tier I" renewable sources of energy by 2020. Tier I resources include solar, wind, geothermal and biomass. The standard also requires 10% of the state's electricity to come from a second category of resources that include waste coal, integrated combined coal gasification technology, municipal solid waste, large-scale hydro,...

Colorado voters have approved an amendment requiring utilities to get part of their electricity from the sun, wind or plant and animal waste. The amendment requires the state's seven largest utilities to get a portion of their retail electricity sales from renewables, beginning with 3 percent in 2007 and climbing to 10 percent by 2015. Four percent of the renewables should be solar sources.

Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. (NGLPF) announced today that it has acquired 7 square miles of private land and has applied for a one section federal geothermal lease for a total land area of 8 square miles (22 square kilometers) south and east of Black Warrior Peak, Washoe County, Nevada. The leases are on private land and are subject to a 3.5% royalty on gross revenue from electricity sales, however, NGP can purchase the royalty for US$1,000,000. Leases include surface and water rights.

Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. (NGLPF) announced that Inovision Solutions Inc. (ISI), a TSX-V listed company, will fund up to C$5,000,000 in exploration and development expenditures for the Pumpernickel Geothermal Project under an option agreement to earn a 50% joint venture interest. In order to earn its interest, ISI must complete C$5,000,000 in project expenditures, make C$120,000 in cash payments and issue 600,000 shares to NGP over a five year period. In the first year, ISI must fund a C$400,000 work program, issue 100,000 shares and make a C$10,000 cash payment to maintain its option. NGP will be project...

The Production Tax Credit (PTC) a critical factor in stimulating the growth of the US wind industry is very likely to be expanded to include geothermal energy as part of the JOBS tax package (H.R. 4520, the "American Jobs Creation Act of 2004") just approved by a Congressional Conference Committee.

Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. (NGLPF) is pleased to report that a temperature gradient drilling program is near completion at the Blue Mountain project in Nevada. Eight holes have been drilled to depths up to 1020 feet using an air rotary rig to map the subsurface thermal anomaly outward from the central thermal zone. At three valley locations where the depth of overburden exceeded the capability of the air drilling equipment, additional drilling with a mud circulation rig may be conducted after the initial results have been compiled. Results from the current drilling combined with earlier temperature gradient data and...

New York will dramatically boost its reliance on renewable energy sources like wind and water over the next nine years under a policy approved by state regulators Wednesday. Clean energy advocates and state officials said the action by the state Public Service Commission places New York among the leaders nationwide in the development of renewable energy. It comes 20 months after Gov. George Pataki first called for a statewide standard that would encourage the production of environmentally friendly energy.

"Experts generally agree that our current reliance on fossil fuels is unsustainable. Already oil is near $50 per barrel, and the great millions of Chinese and Indians destined to take to the road in the next decades have not yet gotten behind the wheel." This week Newsweek has written several special reports about alternative energy in all its forms. All of these reports can be found at the following link.

Colorado House Speaker Lola Spradley, R-Beulah. and U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs, co-chairs of Amendment 37—the Renewable Energy Initiative—kicked-off their statewide campaign Thursday with stops throughout Colorado. Amendment 37 would require 10 percent of Colorado's electricity be generated from renewable energy by 2015. The program is scaled beginning with a 3 percent requirement by 2007, 6 percent by 2011, and 10 percent by 2015.

Colorado is the first state in the nation to place renewable energy on its ballots, thanks in part to grassroots support from Summit County. On Nov. 2, Colorado voters will decide whether to require the state's seven largest utilities to generate 10 percent of their electricity from environmentally-friendly sources like wind power by 2015.

Western GeoPower Corp (WGPWF) has received approval to start drilling on their new Geothermal energy operation facility at South Meager in Canada. This new facility could amount to over 100 MW capacity. GeoPower expects to have the South Meager plant ready for commercial generation by mid-2007.

The political climate for many of the western states are slowly starting to change to see the need for conversion to renewable energy sources. These test installations for Solar, Geothermal, and Wind energy are now producing real power for these areas. The key for us is to find the vendors that supply these installations. As the funding increases in these test beds, our growth will increase. Here is a good article from the sfgate.com about the various western states initiatives. "California's goal is to produce 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2017. New Mexico...

BusinessWeek.com discusses John Kerry's plan to increase alternative energy usage for the country. John Kerry's blueprint for energy independence doesn't suffer from lack of ambition. In early August, he'll unveil an energy plan that he says can break America's addiction to foreign oil, revitalize the U.S. auto industry, help farmers and coal miners, fight global warming, and create jobs all for just $2 billion per year. "We can live in an America that is energy independent," Kerry promises.