Geothermal

Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA Raser Technologies (NYSE:RZ) stock has fallen almost 50% since the company announce an offering of shares on June 30.  Although the round quickly filled, the stock continued falling, and it seems like a screaming deal.  Is it? On July 7, Raser Technologies sold $25.5M of stock and warrants in a secondary offering.  According to press reports, this amounted to 13% of Raser's stock, thereby valuing the company at (very approximately) $200M, or $175M pre-money.   The units, each consisting of 1 share and 1/2 a warrant exercisable at $4.62 was offered at $2.98. ...

From Small Fries to Big Shots? Part 1 of 2 by Bill Paul Feel like rolling the dice on some small alternative energy stocks that appear to have big-time potential? Just remember: sometimes you roll snake eyes. First up: World Energy Solutions Inc. (Symbol: XWES), which currently trades on NASDAQ for $3 and change per share. Worcester, MA-based World Energy Solutions operates online exchanges for energy and green commodities, including the one administered by Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Inc. (RGGI), the regulatory scheme under which 10 Northeastern and Middle Atlantic states "cap" their power plants' emissions by requiring...

Tom Konrad CFA My take-aways from the GEA Finance Forum After a long time lost in the proverbial desert of high capital costs and few financiers willing to step up, a number of geothermal companies made breakthroughs last fall.  The Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantees for geothermal power development began to come through, and financiers were beginning to step up.  Nevada Geothermal Power (NGLPF.OB) announced a deal with Ormat (ORA) in which Ormat will earn a share of Nevada Geothermal's Crump Geyser property by paying for and financing most of the development costs,...

Tom Konrad CFA My entire portfolio of Geothermal companies received DOE cost-sharing grants Friday.  Here's a quick run-down: Nevada Geothermal (NGLPF.PK, NGP.V) received $1.7M for its Crump Geyser project, and $1.6M for its Black Warrior project. NGP also celebrated completion of  its Blue Mountain Faulkner 1 plant the same day. US Geothermal (HTM) received $3.77M for it San Emidio project. Sierra Geothermal (SRAGF.PK, SRA.V) received $10M for exploration at its Alum and Silver Peak projects.  Ormat (ORA) received two grants, and is likely to benefit from other grants since geothermal exploration companies such as US Geothermal contract with...

Raser Technologies (NYSE:RZ) did not get the hoped-for DOE loan guarantee.   The company still has good long term prospects, but the short term upside chances are much weaker, prompting me to sell in the hope of buying back in after a general market sell-off. Raser Technologies (NYSE:RZ) dropped from $2.10 to $1.95 on September 1st, prompting a regular reader to leave a comment asking me if it was time to sell on the original Raser article. (Because he's a regular, he knows my policy of preferring to answer questions posed as comments on the blog to email comments: At...

Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. (NGLPF) reported that exploration work at the Pumpernickel Geothermal Project (5710 acres/8.92 square miles) is underway. In Phase I - 3D "E-SCAN", resistivity survey methods will be utilized to map the deep geothermal source waters feeding surface hot springs. Results are expected in four weeks. Subsequently a series of six 250-meter (820 foot) gradient wells will be drilled to test the interpretation of the E-SCAN survey.

by Debra Fiakas CFA U.S. Geothermal (HTM:  AMEX) is scheduled to report third quarter 2013 financial results on November 15th, taking every day allowed to a public company to reveal the fruits and labors of a quarter.  There will be plenty to talk about in the conference call with analysts and investors.  USG closed a loan financing to support the first phase of its San Emidio geothermal power project in Nevada.  The loan valued at $30.7 million bears a fixed interest burden of 6.75% will replace a $25 million construction loan for the project and supply working capital...

Ormat Technologies (ORA) announced that an Ormat subsidiary signed an agreement to purchase from CDC Group plc., a 14.09% partnership interest (13.67% on a fully diluted basis) in Orzunil I de Electricidad, Limitada (Orzunil), which owns the Zunil Geothermal Project in Guatemala. CDC Group's investment in this project has been managed by Globeleq, an emerging markets power company. As a result of this acquisition, Ormat's annual net income from the Zunil project is expected to increase by approximately $0.6 million on a full year basis.

Tom Konrad, CFA The market for Organic Rankin Cycle geothermal turbines has become competitive. In my October 2010 profile of geothermal industry leader Ormat Technologies (ORA), I quoted a conversation I'd had with a Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) representative in 2006, where she told me that Ormat stood head and shoulders above all the other geothermal players.  As the only truly vertically integrated geothermal developer, with in-house exploration, drilling, turbine technology, and operations, Ormat is still unique among geothermal companies.  But not too long ago their Organic Rankin Cycle turbines (which they call Ormat Energy...

By Dana Blankenhorn Despite America's leadership in geothermal the industry remains in the “and” category. As in, “solar, wind, tidal, biofuels AND geothermal.” It's an afterthought. (Picture from Evergreen State University.) Why are geothermal companies having to organize politically to gain crumbs from the capital table? The answer is pretty obvious, but no one seems willing to state it plainly. The oil industry is holding back. A recent Time Magazine article on renewables and oil investment makes it pretty plain. Total's bought into solar, Shell and BP into biofuels. Chile's state oil-and-gas company sold-out its geothermal interests...

Like most conglomerates, United Technologies Corporation (UTC), (NYSE:UTX) won't be found in any of the Clean Energy indices, but its growing portfolio of clean energy businesses makes it fit well into a diversified portfolio with a clean energy tilt.  A conservative capital structure and solid earnings and cash flow, and a decades long history of constantly increasing dividends make this a company that I'm comfortable holding for the long term.   In terms of sustainability, the company has been recognized by Dow Jones as in the top 10% of the world's most sustainable companies.  Long before it became fashionable for...

By Dana Blankenhorn Of all the energy harvesting technologies out there, geothermal remains the most maddening. In theory, there should be more than enough energy below our feet to power our world, and it should be cost-competitive for a fraction of the investment needed in wind or solar. In theory. Right now, the extraction of geothermal energy in the U.S. remains tied to Nevada and California, where the heat is close enough to the surface and in stable enough formations that a drill can reach it without the heat dissipating quickly. This has caused investors to sour on...

Jennifer Delony Reno, Nev.-based Ormat Technologies (ORA) is seeking mergers and acquisitions that will help the company enhance its geothermal projects with energy storage technologies, Ormat CEO Isaac Angel said on Nov. 4. “On the storage solutions side, we are progressing well,” Angle said during a 3Q15 earnings webcast. “I’m very optimistic that we will be able to add a lot of MW … and profitability to our existing power plants.” Angle said that he also is optimistic that the company will secure a deal soon that will initiate Ormat’s energy storage strategy. “We’re almost there,” he said....

Charles Morand Last Thursday, I reviewed two chapters from the recently published book "Investment Opportunities for a Low Carbon World"*. This post reviews two more.  Geothermal Energy Alexander Richter, Glitnir Bank (now Íslandsbanki) Geothermal is one of the most interesting forms of clean power generation there is. As noted by the author, the most convincing argument for geothermal electricity is the fact that it operates at capacity factors in the upper 90s. This makes it the only renewable technology suitable for baseload power with the exception of dam-based (i.e. large-scale) hydro. However, as...

Ormat Technologies (ORA) announced that Ormat subsidiary, Puna Geothermal Venture ("PGV"), completed the re-drilling of an existing production well at the Puna Geothermal Project (the "Puna Project") located on the Big Island, Hawaii. The well re-drilling increased net generating capacity of the power plant by approximately 4 MW, bringing total net generating capacity to approximately 29 MW.

Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. (NGLPF) reported that the next phase of development is underway at its Blue Mountain Geothermal site, with drilling to deepen the Deep Blue 2 (DB2) well by an additional 700 metres (2,300 feet). "We are investigating a potential deep - hotter production zone that would make Blue Mountain's economics extremely robust," said Brian Fairbank President and CEO. "A deep high temperature resource would allow us to use more efficient and cost effective 'dual-flash' technology similar to the 60MW power plant at the Dixie Valley high temperature field in Nevada. A Monte Carlo simulation...