Geothermal Showcase, Finance Workshop, and Small Power Workshop Announced by Leading Industry Group

Washington, DC -- The Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) announces three important geothermal events for 2009. GEA's events will showcase geothermal projects to the energy community in Washington DC, bring developers together with financiers in Seattle, and promote small power and direct use geothermal growth in the U.S. in Oregon, respectively.

May 6, 2009, Geothermal Showcase, Newseum, Washington, DC - If you can't visit geothermal projects under development in the West, come to the Newseum and let us take you there. Taking place in Washington, DC on Wednesday, May 6, 2009, GEA along with Gold Level Sponsors Ormat, UTC Power, and Enel North America will be hosting a Geothermal Energy Project Showcase at the Newseum. Catering to the DC energy, policy, and technology community, leading geothermal companies will present video footage of geothermal power projects taking place in the U.S. and internationally. As part of this half-day event, top experts will discuss the potential impact geothermal development can have on our energy needs by implementing experimental technologies, hydrothermal, co-production, EGS, small power, and geothermal heating and cooling. June 3, 2009, Geothermal Finance, Technology, and Development Workshop in Seattle, WA -- This will be the fourth in a sell-out series of workshops for anyone interested in financing or development of geothermal power. On Wednesday, June 3, 2009, GEA along with Gold Level Sponsors Ormat and UTC Power will hold a Geothermal Finance, Technology, and Development Workshop in Seattle, WA. This event will be held in cooperation with the Mayor of Seattle’s office at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. The day-long workshop will include a U.S. Geothermal update, panels on project development, technology, finance, community/environmental issues, tribal and power company perspectives, and keynote presentations by the Mayor of Seattle, Greg Nickels, and other notable speakers.
August 12, 2009, Small Power and Direct Use Workshop, Klamath Falls, Oregon -- Distributed generation and commercial and industrial uses of geothermal energy are both exciting new growth areas to be explored. This workshop will take place on a campus soon to be heated and powered entirely by geothermal energy! In August of 2009, GEA in cooperation with the GeoHeat Center at the Oregon Institute of Technology and Gold Level Sponsor UTC Power will host a geothermal direct use and small power workshop in Klamath Falls, Oregon. This all-day workshop (with OR geothermal site tour the following day) will include the how-to's of financing a small power use project, discussion on state-of-the-art advancements for direct use technology for building and commercial uses, presentations on small projects and direct use projects today, information about drilling and exploration for such projects, and more. For more information, including sponsorship and registration materials, please go to www.geo-energy.org, or contact Kathy Kent at GEA by emailing kathy@geo-energy.org.

Geothermal Power Continues Strong Growth, New Industry Report Shows

A new report by the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) shows strong growth in new geothermal power projects continuing into 2009. "There has been a 25% increase in new geothermal projects from August of 2008, when the last GEA report was released. There is also an increase in overall production potential by 35%," notes Kara Slack, the report's author.

The report also notes that the number of states producing geothermal power has increased from 7 to 8 with the addition of Wyoming. "Geothermal power projects continue to move forward, with new projects being added at an increasing rate," according to Karl Gawell, Executive Director of GEA.

The report identifies a total of 126 projects under development with the potential to put 5,500 MW of new geothermal power on line, equivalent to 15,000 MW – 20,000 MW from wind turbines or enough power for 5.5 million California homes, according to GEA. New geothermal power projects were identified in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

“It is great to see that between August 2008 and March 2009, there was a jump of about 1,500 MW in new geothermal projects,” remarks Slack. “Interest in geothermal development continues to grow. We are seeing new entrants to the industry, in part because of new leasing by BLM and several new projects by the U.S. Navy," she adds.

According to the GEA report, Nevada, with 58 confirmed projects, has the most production under development. California is second with 27 projects, followed by Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and Alaska, respectively.

"The report shows a substantial movement of projects into the later stages of development, the permitting and construction phases," Gawell points out. "If federal and state governments give them the support and priority they need, most of these projects could be on line in a few years." GEA estimates that bringing these projects on line could help economic recovery, spurring as many as 100,000 new jobs.

GEA will have copies of the report available at their booth (#1412) at the Renewable Energy World (REW) Conference and Expo, March 10–12, in Las Vegas. In addition, Karl Gawell will be making a presentation on the report as part of the REW Panel Discussion, U.S. Geothermal Market, March 11, 1:30–3:30pm, Tropical D. Copies of U.S. Geothermal Power Production and Development Update, March 2009 are available to download free of charge from the GEA Web site at: http://www.geo-energy.org.