December 2003, Issue No. 8

Farm Bill to award more money to RE ag projects in 2004

Energy Bill fails to pass in 2003

What's Going On
A calendar of events of interest in the 19 states of GeoPowering the West, and across the U.S.A.

State Roundup
A summary of what is going on across the nation, and in the GeoPowering the West states

Current Solicitations
Money available from state and federal governments and private sources

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	Farm Bill to award more money to RE ag projects in 2004

Under Section 9006 of Title IX of the 2002 Farm Bill, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides funding to farmers, ranchers, and small rural businesses (including cooperatives) under the five-year Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Program. In 2003, the program awarded $21.2 million in grant funding to 113 projects in 24 states. None were for geothermal direct use or power generation projects.

Geothermal energy can be used for a wide range of agricultural applications including aquiculture, crop drying, food processing, greenhouses, soil warming, and building and water heating—to name a few. For additional information on the various agricultural uses of geothermal resources, review the Geothermal Small Business Workbook.

In FY 2004, the Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Program will provide grants and loans. The new draft Rules are due to be released for public review in January 2004, and will be posted on the USDA Rural Development Farm Bill 2002 Information website. The official funding notice is tentatively scheduled to be issued in late spring or early summer.

There are three things an interested farmer, rancher, or small rural business owner can do right now:

1. Contact their local USDA rural energy coordinators to learn when the proposed regulations will be made available for public comment and when funds will be available for FY04. A list of these contacts can be found on the Rural Business-Cooperative Service website.
   
2. Monitor the USDA Rural Development Farm Bill 2002 Information website.
   
3. Once the Rules are issued, GeoPowering the West partners will hold one or more teleconferences or webcasts to help interested applicants prepare strong proposals. If you would like to participate, email Liz Battocletti at lbatto@att.net.

Let's get geothermal projects funded in 2004!

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Energy Bill fails to pass in 2003

On 18 November, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 6, The Energy Policy Act of 2003, by a bipartisan vote of 246 to 180. Three days later, the Senate failed to pass the bill in a cloture motion by just two votes. (Cloture is a procedure by which the Senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill. Under Senate rules, 60 votes are needed to close debate and force a final vote on legislation.)

The Senate will reconvene 20 January 2004 and resume consideration of the Energy Bill. "I'm confident that, while this looks kind of gloomy now, this bill will become law early next year," Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) said earlier this month.

For geothermal energy, the Energy Bill:

• Expands the Production Tax Credit (PTC) to include new geothermal power plants. Plants placed in service by 1 January 2007 would receive a 1.8¢/kWh credit for the first five years of service.
• Reforms the geothermal steam acts leasing and royalty provisions.
• Provides for comprehensive assessment of geothermal energy resources.
• Reauthorizes the Renewable Energy Production Incentive program to provide renewable energy production incentives.
• Directs the federal government to use more renewable energy, with a goal of using 7.5% or more by 2011.

Karl Gawell, Executive Director of the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) which supports the bill urged all members of the Senate to continue working towards enacting national energy legislation.

In the wake of the Senate vote on the energy bill, Reps. Zach Wamp (R-TN) and Mark Udall (D-CO) organized a letter signed by 105 Representatives urging significant increases in FY 2005 funding for the renewable energy and energy efficiency programs of the Department of Energy (DOE). The letter was addressed to President Bush, and urged him to include these increases in the budget he will release at the end of January 2004 (Source: November-December 2003 GEA Washington Update).

For more information:

• Bill Number H.R.6
• "Bill to amend Geothermal Steam Act introduced in the House," Geothermal-biz.com newsletter, July 2003
• GEA New Energy Bill Info
• U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce
• U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 2003 Energy Legislation

What's Going On

• 20 January
  Exploring Utah Geothermal Opportunities
  Salt Lake City, UT
  Email Bob Blackett, Senior Geologist, Utah Geological Survey at blackett@suu.edu
  
  
• 20-21 January
  4th Annual Harvesting Clean Energy Conference
  Portland, OR
  Website
  
  
• 22-23 January
  National Geothermal Collaborative Meeting
  Washington, D.C.
  Email: Kathleen Rutherford, Senior Mediator, RESOLVE at krutherford@resolv.org
  

• 26-28 January
  29th Stanford Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering
  Stanford University, CA
  Website
  
  
• 30-31 January
  California Indian Energy Symposium
  San Francisco, CA
  Website
  

• 3-5 February
  Green Renewable Energy and Technologies (GREAT) Institute Conference
  Denver, CO
  Email Alfred Dozier, Managing Director, GREAT Institute at globalc@earthlink.net
  
  
• 9-12 February
  Reservation Economic Summit 2004
  Las Vegas, NV
  Website
  
  
• 1-3 March
  POWER-GEN Renewable Energy
  Las Vegas, NV
  Website
  
  
• 14-16 April
  Western Governors' Association
  North American Energy Summit
  Albuquerque, NM
  Website
  
  
• 18-21 April
  American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Annual Meeting
  Poster session: "New Advances in Geothermal Energy"
  Dallas, TX
  Website
  
  
• 5-7 May
  Utility Energy Forum
  Gold River, CA
  Website
  
  
• 18-24 May
  39th Forum on the Geology of Industrial Minerals
  Reno, NV
  Website
  
  
• 5-9 June
  Gulf Rocks 2004: Rock Mechanics Across Borders & Disciplines
  Houston, TX
  Website
  

• 26 August-1 September
  Geothermal Resources Council (GRC) 2004 Annual Meeting
  Palm Springs, CA
  Website
  
  
• 28 August-3 September
  World Renewable Energy Congress (WREC VIII)
  Denver, CO
  Abstracts may be submitted until 16 January 2004.
  Website

State Roundup

Send your news, events, etc. to the Editor.

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National

• A "Geothermal 101" webcast targeted towards utilities was held on 12 November. Presented by Ray Dracker of the Center for Resource Solutions and Jim Lovekin of GeothermEx, Inc., the webcast allowed 18 participants, many new to geothermal, to "Learn everything you want to know about Geothermal Energy from the comfort of your desk." The webcast covered the basics of geothermal, e.g., what is geothermal energy and how it works, types of resources and conversion technologies, the location of commercial geothermal power installations in the U.S. and the world, geothermal resource potential in the Western U.S., and economics. The webcast was supported by Bob Lawrence & Associates, Inc.; Western Area Power Administration; and the Arizona Geothermal Working Group under the DOE GeoPowering the West program. For more information, email Liz Battocletti at lbatto@att.net.
  
  
• Princeton Energy Resources International (PERI) is conducting a survey of geothermal technical literature—where it is located, how to find it, and the steps needed to ensure that it remains accessible. To date, the research has yielded two reports which are available on the PERI website. You can support the E-archiving effort by completing the survey (in Word format). For more information, email Dan Entingh, Senior Economist, PERI at dentingh@perihq.com.
  
  
• Educators for the Environment announced the publication of its new book, Energy for Keeps: Electricity from Renewable Energy in November. Targeted towards "everyone who uses electricity," the 240-page user-friendly book covers the history, availability, impacts, technologies, and management of the energy resources we use (or can use) to generate electricity. Prepared with support from the California Energy Commission, the Bonneville Power Administration, and others, the book is available for download in PDF format from the Energy for Keeps website, or by clicking on the cover below.
  
  
  
  
• Call for abstracts: Authors are invited to submit abstracts for the World Geothermal Congress 2005 scheduled for 24-29 April 2005 in Antalya, Turkey. Papers may be presented verbally or as posters. All papers and presentations must be in English. Abstracts are due by January 2004; accepted papers by May 2004. Only authors of accepted papers are eligible for financial support. For more information and to submit abstracts online, see the WGC 2005 website.
  
  
• DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) published the "Renewable Energy Annual 2002" on 7 November. The report shows that U.S. renewable energy use rose 11% in 2002, due mainly to increased production of hydropower. Of the other renewable energy technologies, wind power grew fastest, increasing by 56% in 2002. Geothermal consumption declined to 0.304 quadrillion Btu in 2002. The number of geothermal heat pumps manufactured rose in 2002, although total capacity (tonnage) declined. According to participating electric utilities, 211 had over 700,000 customers in green pricing programs during 2002. Ninety-eight electric industry participants with 5,001 customers reported being involved in net metering programs.

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Alaska

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American Samoa

No news.

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Arizona

No news.

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California

• The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians held the grand opening of the Spa Resort Casino's new $95 million casino building on 6 November. Located on nine acres in the heart of Palm Springs, the new casino is located across the street from the Spa Resort. The hot springs where the Spa Hotel now stands was used for bathing and curative purposes for centuries, and was opened to the public as a bathhouse in 1870.
  
  
• According to a report adopted by the California Energy Commission (CEC) on 19 November, "Recent indications suggest increased growth in the development of geothermal electric energy over the next 10 years. Renewable energy solicitations in California have drawn proposals for development of almost 7,000 gigawatt-hours per year (GWh/year). Proposals in other Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) states reviewed for this study total more than 3,000 GWh/year." The "Renewable Resources Development Report" (RRDR) is available in PDF format from the CEC's SB 1038 Proceeding - Documents Page. The predicted costs (excluding the Production Tax Credit, in 2003 Dollars) for various types of renewable energy are shown in the following table.
  
  

  Technology	Size (MW)	Levelized Cost of Energy (cents/kWh)
  		2005	2008	2010	2017
  Wind Class 6 Wind Class 4	75 75	4.1 4.9	3.4 3.9	3.3 3.6	2.7 3
  Concentrating Solar Power PV High Insolation 250 kW PV Low Insolation 250 kW PV High Insolation 3 kW PV Low Insolation 3 kW	100 0.25 0.25 0.003 0.003	12.1 27.5 34 23.3 28.7	6.7 22.9 28.4 21.8 26.9	6.4 21.1 26 18.8 23.2	6 15.6 19.3 12.6 15.6
  Landfill Gas ADG-Animal Waste-developed financed Solid Biomass-Direct Combustion ADG-Animal Waste-farmer/coop financed	2 0.1 20 0.1	4.4 6.9 6.6 4.3	4.1 6.2 6.2 3.8	4.1 6.2 6.2 3.8	3.7 5.6 5.7 3.6
  Geothermal Flash Geothermal Binary	50 50	5.3 5.5	5 5.1	4.9 4.9	4.5 4.2
  Source: Navigant Consulting, subcontractor to XENERGY, Inc., Technical Assistance Contractor for the Renewable Energy Program (Contract No. 500-01-036).

  
  

• On 22 November, ORMAT Nevada, Inc. announced that its subsidiaries were successful in the Chapter 11 auction for all the geothermal assets of Covanta Energy Corporation, which filed for bankruptcy protection in April 2002. ORMAT's bid for $214 million included 100% ownership in the 52-MW Heber plant, 100% ownership in the lessee position of the 48-MW Second Imperial Geothermal Company (SIGC) plant, and 50% ownership interest in the 40-MW Mammoth Pacific plant. ORMAT is committed to completing the acquisition before 31 December 2003. The three plants have long-term power purchase agreements with Southern California Edison until 2015-2022. The expected revenues from sale of electricity for all the above assets is approximately $80 million per year. ORMAT is financing the acquisition through a $155-million loan from Beal Bank of Dallas and a $60-million bond issue on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. For more information, see the ORMAT news release.

• The $200-million Geysers pipeline system began operating in early December. The 40-mile pipeline project injects half the wastewater generated annually by Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Cotati, and Sebastopol into the Geysers' underground steam fields. In addition to the $200 million, Calpine has spent another $45 million building its own network of pipes and injection wells to carry 11 million gallons of treated effluent a day (Source: "Full steam ahead, Santa Rosa's 40-mile pipeline starts pumping wastewater this week to The Geysers, providing energy and helping preserve the Russian River" by Mike McCoy, The Press Democrat, 30 November 2003). For more information: Calpine 5 December press release, and the project description from the City of Santa Rosa.
  
  
• Two workshops were held in mid-December for utilities wanting to learn more about geothermal development, operating, economics, risks, and other issues. The first was held in Pasadena on 16 December; the second in Sacramento on 18 December. Both were sponsored by DOE's GeoPowering the West Program and the Western Area Power Administration, and held in conjunction with the CEC PIER Renewables Program, the Center for Resource Solutions, and GeothermEx, Inc. Several utilities attended the workshops including the Northern California Power Agency, one of the operators at the Geysers, and public utilities. For more information, email Randy Manion, WAPA at manion@wapa.gov.
  
  
• On 17 December, the CEC voted to license the Salton Sea Unit 6 Geothermal Power Project. The 185-MW, $405-million project, under development by CE Obsidian Energy, LLC, will be the largest geothermal plant in the country when it goes online in 2005. CEC staff has estimated that the project will avoid $50 million a year in costs for fuel that would be used by a similarly-sized natural gas-fired facility, at the current price of natural gas. Most of the power will be sold through a long term contract to the Imperial Irrigation District. For more information, see: the CEC Salton Sea Geothermal Power Plant Licensing Case website and the CEC News Release.
  
  
• At industry's urging, the College of the Siskiyous (COS) is offering a certificate and degree in power plant operation. COS and Lassen Community College in Susanville have agreed to provide training through a cooperative partnership. According to Calpine Project Manager Joel Brown, the power industry continues to grow with deregulation. "All the power companies in California are growing and in need of new power plant operators," he said. Students interested in a career as power plant operators can receive either a certificate or two-year degree in power plant operation (Source: "COS offers power plant career path" by John Diehm, Siskiyou Daily News, 10 December 2003).
  
  
• Calpine Corporation's Geysers geothermal operations have received an award for environmental stewardship, safety, infrastructure maintenance, and resource conservation from the California Department of Conservation. The award marks the second consecutive year Calpine has received such recognition. The award is displayed at Calpine's Geothermal Visitor Center in Middletown. For more information: Calpine's 16 December 2003 press release, or the Calpine Geothermal Visitor Center at the Geysers.

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Colorado

No news.

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Hawai'i

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Idaho

• Subject to receiving final approval from the TSX Venture Exchange, U.S. Cobalt Inc. will acquire all shares and warrants of U.S. Geothermal Inc., a private Idaho corporation that has the right to acquire from Vulcan Power Company of Bend, Oregon a 100% interest in the Raft River Geothermal Project. For more information: "Acquisition of Idaho Geothermal Project Nears Completion," U.S. Cobalt, Inc. News Release, 20 November 2003 (in PDF format).
  
  
• The Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) re-extended the moratorium on new development in the geothermal aquifer running along the Boise Front another five years, saying additional study is necessary. The moratorium was imposed in 1988 when only about one-third of the water was reinjected into the aquifer. Under the current limits, the city may use 230 million gallons a year. In 2002, it used 171 million gallons and reinjected 140 million. IDWR scientists monitoring the aquifer say water and pressure level declines appear to have stabilized. The city of Boise would like to use more aquifer water if levels remain steady, public works director Chuck Mickelson said, adding that if a downtown convention center is built, it could use geothermal heat (Source: "Geothermal aquifer moratorium continues" by Joe Kolman, The Idaho Statesman, 2 December 2003). For more information, see the IDWR 2 December 2003 news release (2003-58).

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Kansas

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Montana

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Nebraska

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Nevada

• A new Geothermal Resources of Nevada website has been launched by the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology (NBMG) with partial financial assistance from the 2001 DOE State Energy Program Special Projects. Advertised as an online update to "Thermal Waters of Nevada" by Larry Garside and John Schilling which was published by NBMG in 1979, the website provides geochemical data and maps for thermal waters in the state.

• On 24 October, Sierra Pacific Power and Nevada Power issued letters to the respondents of the 2003 Renewable Energy RFP indicating if they were on the "Short List," the "Secondary List," or the "Not Successful List." For more information, see the Sierra Nevada Renewable RFPs webpage.
  
  
• Several new Geothermal Leases have been filed with the Nevada Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The following information is provided courtesy of the "Nevada Oil Reporter." For more information on BLM leases in Nevada, see the website: http://www.blm.gov/lr2000 (Source: Nevada Geothermal Update, October and November 2003).
  
  

  Non-Competitive Geothermal BLM Lease Applications, Pending:
  NORAMEX CORP.	West of Blue Mountain, Humboldt County
  NORAMEX CORP.	West of Blue Mountain, Humboldt County
  Stillwater Holdings LLC	Stillwater, Churchill County
  Western Geothermal Partners	Salt Wells, Churchill County
  Western Geothermal Partners	Southeast of Salt Wells, Churchill County
  Western Geothermal Partners	North of Salt Wells, Churchill County
  Kingzett, James M.	Hazen, Churchill, and Lyon Counties
  Kingzett, James M.	North of Hazen, Churchill, and Lyon Counties
  Kingzett, James M.	North of Hazen, Churchill, and Lyon Counties
  Competitive Sale Geothermal BLM Lease Applications, Pending:
  Western Geothermal Partners	Gerlach
  NGP Power Corp.	Salt Wells
  NGP Power Corp.	Salt Wells
  Nevada Geothermal Specialists	Salt Wells
  Nevada Geothermal Specialists	Salt Wells
  Western Geothermal Partners	Salt Wells
  Geothermal BLM Leases Issued:
  Vulcan Power Co.	Salt Wells, Churchill Co.
  PSG Resources LLC	Silverpeak, Esmeralda Co.
  PSG Resources LLC	Esmeralda Co.
  ORMAT Nevada Inc.	Grass Valley, Lander Co.
  ORMAT Nevada Inc.	Grass Valley, Lander Co.
  ORMAT Nevada Inc.	Grass Valley, Lander Co.
  PSG Resources LLC	Silverpeak, Esmeralda Co.
  PSG Resources LLC	Silverpeak, Esmeralda Co.

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• A California company is taking steps to developing a geothermal power plant on the Valles Caldera National Preserve in northern New Mexico. The federal government spent more than $100 million to buy approximately 89,000 acres, but did not acquire about 12% of its mineral rights. The owners of those rights leased the geothermal rights to GeoProducts which says that the collapsed volcanic dome is one of the best sites in the world for a geothermal plant. GeoProducts has applied to the state Oil Conservation Division for permission to reopen some old geothermal wells. In addition, GeoProducts petroleum engineer Ken Boren has submitted a proposal to the Western Area Power Administration (Source: " Company wants to develop geothermal plant on Valles Calera preserve," The Associated Press, 7 November 2003).

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• The Utah State Legislature's Energy Policy Task Force discussed the creation of a sales tax exemption for "energy-related equipment and machinery used in the generation of electricity" at its 5 November meeting. The sales tax exemption was passed out of the task force unanimously but was not passed by the full committee. It will be considered during the legislative session starting in January. For more information, see the Task Force's website.
  
  
• The Utah State BLM held a competitive geothermal lease sale on 9 December. During the sale BLM offered 18 parcels totaling more than 33,800 acres in Beaver, Millard, and Juab Counties. Parcels that received bids (see table below) were located in the Cove Fort-Sulphurdale and Roosevelt Hot Spring areas where two existing geothermal plants are located. The high bid of $9,407 ($10.10 per acre) was received by Recurrent Resources for a Sulphurdale parcel near a geothermal plant they are currently expanding. Leases will be issued for a primary term of 10 years and will continue for as long as geothermal resources are produced in commercial quantities up to 40 years. The last geothermal lease sale in Utah was in 1988. For more information see the Utah BLM website.
  
  

  Geothermal Parcel No.	Lease No.	Successful Bidder
  002	UTU-81048	Recurrent Resources LLC
  016	UTU-81049	Recurrent Resources LLC
  018	UTU-81050	Recurrent Resources LLC
  019	UTU-81051	Recurrent Resources LLC

  
  
• The Utah Geothermal Working Group, the National Geothermal Collaborative, and the Geothermal Resources Council invite you to participate in "Exploring Utah Geothermal Opportunities," on 20 January 2004. The meeting will engage landowners, business owners and developers in the agricultural or industrial sectors, public lands managers, policymakers and staff, energy efficiency advocates, utilities, government representatives , the Farm Bureau, leading geothermal experts, and the USDA in a dialogue to explore issues and opportunities pertaining to geothermal development in Utah. The meeting will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Marriott downtown, 75 South West Temple, Salt Lake City. For more information, email Bob Blackett, Senior Geologist, Utah Geological Survey, at blackett@suu.edu.

• According to a poll commissioned by the Renew Washington campaign, 90% of Washington voters back efforts to establish more renewable energy and energy efficiency in the state. A clear majority of those polled also agree that more renewable energy sources would benefit the state with jobs, stable electric rates, and increased tax revenues. Conducted by Opinion Dynamics Corporation, a Cambridge, MA-based research firm the survey to assess voter attitudes on energy issues and proposed Energy Portfolio legislation found that nearly two-thirds of the state's voters support standards for utility investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Support was even across party and regional lines (Source: Independent Energy Quarterly, Winter 2003, volume 1, issue 1).

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Wyoming

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The Geothermal biz.com Newsletter is produced by:
Bob Lawrence & Associates, Inc.
Liz Battocletti, Editor

345 South Patrick Street
Alexandria, VA 22314 USA
Phone: 703 836 3654 / Fax: 703 836 6086
http://www.bl-a.com

© 2002-2003 Bob Lawrence & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.

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