U.S. Geothermal (NYSE: HTM) signs interconnection agreement for Neal Hot Springs Power Project

U.S. Geothermal Inc. (“U.S. Geothermal”), a renewable energy company focused on the production of electricity from geothermal energy, announced today that an interconnection agreement for the Neal HotSprings project has been signed with the Idaho Power Company (“IPC”).

The agreement encompasses the design and construction of a key transmission line andsubstation from the Neal Hot Springs project site to IPC’s nearby transmission grid. The new10.3 mile line is being designed for 36 megawatts of transmission capacity. A recent study
completed by IPC estimated the construction cost of the new connection to be $3.2 million.

IPC is responsible for the design, engineering, right-of-way acquisition and construction of the new line and its associated facilities. This line is part of the development plan for the Neal Hot Springs project that is currently expected to deliver electrical power beginning in early 2011. U.S. Geothermal is completing a feasibility study and preparing project loan and technical documents required to obtain funding for development and Construction of the project. The power is expected to be sold under a long term agreement that is currently under negotiations.

“This agreement is a critical milestone in the development of our project at Neal Hot Springs”,said Daniel Kunz, CEO and President. “Initiation of this interconnection agreement, to gain
access to the transmission grid, is a critical path activity that allows us to maintain our current development schedule for the project.”

Raser (NYSE: RZ) adds 37,000 acres to Oregon Geothermal resource holdings

Raser Technologies, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a long-term lease agreement with private land owners covering 37,000 acres of geothermal resources in Southeastern Oregon. The terms of the lease agreement were not specified, but include surface and other rights necessary to build geothermal power plants. The property includes a number of hot springs and wells that indicate the presence of significant geothermal resources. “Working with the University of Utah’s Energy and Geoscience Institute, Raser has determined this area is one of the more significantly promising geothermal systems,” stated Brent M. Cook, CEO of Raser. “We believe this is a vast resource area of mid temperature binary potential.”

“Well logs of drilling in the area over the last few decades in combination with our work done during the past 13 months in this area reveals heat and flows of geothermal fluids indicating that this is potentially a significant resource for geothermal development,” stated Richard Clayton, Raser’s Executive Vice President. “The land is ideally located in southern Oregon so that the power generated from the resource can be sold into either the Oregon or California renewable energy markets.”

Shenhua Group will produce China’s first barrel of liquid fuel

By Remy In (BioFuelNewsBlog.com)

China’s largest coal company Shenhua Group will produce China’s first barrel of liquid fuel from coal in 2008 using self-owned technology known as direct coal liquefaction.

The rest of the article can be read at BioFuelNewsBlog.com

Geysir Green Energy increases stake in Envent Holding Philippines

Geysir Green Energy, the global geothermal company, has increased its ownership in Envent from 50 percent to 80 percent.

Envent is currently working on several geothermal projects in the Philippines and is committed to contributing to the Philippine government’s target of an additional 1,200 MW of renewable energy by 2013. Envent’s most advanced project in the Philippines is on Biliran island, located in the central Philippines, close to the Eastern Visayas power grid system. The Biliran project is being executed through Envent’s associate company, Biliran Geothermal Incorporated. The project is currently progressing well with surface explorations scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2009.

Geysir’s increased ownership of Envent complements the recently issued Philippines Renewable Energy Act of 2008. The Act seeks to accelerate the exploration and development of renewable energy resources in the Philippines. For example, it promotes the purchase, grid connection and transmission of electricity generated from renewable energy sources, and provides incentives such as exemption from various taxes and duties to renewable energy developers in the country.

Green Ocean Energy has developed a wave and wind power machine

A pioneering wave power device that could provide a major breakthrough in the drive to hit sustainable energy targets is a step closer to commercial use after tests proved the system is highly effective.

Green Ocean Energy Ltd, the Aberdeen-based renewable energy company, has developed a wave power machine which uniquely attaches to an offshore wind turbine thereby giving combined wind and wave power from one installation. The economics of both machines will be enhanced as the expensive infrastructure such as the foundation and cabling will now be shared.

Managing director of Green Ocean Energy, George Smith, who invented Wave Treader said: “We have drawn on our extensive skills and experience in the energy sector to develop this technology. The support we have received from npower through the juice fund has enabled us to take a huge step forward in preparing the device for widespread use in the offshore environment. These are exciting times for the company and we look forward to eventually seeing the device incorporated into offshore wind farms.

“The Wave Treader has the potential to significantly increase sustainable energy generation both in the UK and around the globe. If we’re going to reach the Government’s target of generating 20% of the UK’s energy from renewable sources by 2020 it’s essential that a range of sustainable sources are put into widespread use.”

Inspired by sea life: Biomimicry produces power from the ocean

By T Goodman (InventorSpot.com)

BioPower Systems is an Australian company that creates technologies to convert ocean power into a renewable source of energy for other applications.

The rest of the article can be read at investoryspot.com

Study confirms Rentech’s Technology (NYSE: RTK) can produce synthetic fuels with lower Greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum refining

Rentech, Inc. (NYSE Alternext US:RTK) announced today that greenhouse gas emissions from its planned synthetic fuels facility near Natchez, Mississippi are expected to be lower than those from conventional crude refineries. This is based on the results of a third-party life-cycle assessment of the carbon footprint of fuels to be produced at the proposed Natchez plant. The study was commissioned by Rentech and reviewed independently. An unrelated new study by the United States Department of Energy confirms comparable results for fuel production using technology similar to Rentech’s.

The life-cycle analysis evaluated the design of the Company’s proposed Natchez plant using petroleum coke as feedstock with the Rentech Process to produce approximately 30,000 barrels per day of ultra-clean synthetic fuels, specialty waxes and chemicals. Rentech’s fuels are biodegradable, cleaner-burning and have a longer shelf life than traditional petroleum-derived fuels. The facility is designed to capture approximately 80% of the carbon dioxide generated in the production process to be sold under a long-term agreement with Denbury Resources for enhanced oil recovery in the region.

The well-to-wheels greenhouse gas analysis of the proposed Natchez facility, performed by Dr. John Marano, concluded that the fuels from the facility would produce 11% to 23% fewer carbon dioxide emissions than would result from fuels produced from conventional crude refining. The study is based on a proposed design of the Natchez facility, which includes carbon capture and sequestration. This result is an improvement over previous studies of synthetic fuels plants that suggested that carbon capture and storage would reduce emissions to levels comparable to that of conventional petroleum processes. The highest level of improvement is attributable to comparisons of Rentech’s fuels to heavy, low quality crude typical of Venezuela and other parts of the world. The addition of biomass as a co-feed could further improve the carbon footprint of the proposed Natchez facility as well as generate carbon displacement credits. The full study will be posted on the Company’s website when available.

The findings by Dr. Marano are in line with a recently published report by the United States Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) entitled, “Affordable, Low-Carbon Diesel Fuel from Domestic Coal and Biomass.” The NETL report concluded that coal-based synthetic fuels facilities yield a 5% to 12% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions when compared to conventional fuels produced at a standard U.S. refinery. In addition, the NETL study reported that greenhouse gas emission reductions of up to 75% can be achieved by adding up to 30% biomass as a co-feed. The report also concluded that synthetic fuels produced using the Fischer-Tropsch process, on which Rentech’s technology is based, can improve energy security and help reduce the impact of high and volatile oil prices on the U.S. economy as well as mitigate greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change. The NETL report is accessible on Rentech’s website at http://www.rentechinc.com/industry-links.htm.

Commenting on the carbon life-cycle analyses, Richard Penning, Executive Vice President of Technology and Commercial Affairs for Rentech, said, “We view the NETL study as a validation of our third-party life-cycle assessment conducted for a modern designed commercial scale synthetic fuels facility using the Rentech Process. The analysis found that our RenJet and RenDiesel fuels have lower greenhouse gas footprints than conventional fuels. In addition to the environmental benefits of our fuels and production process, we believe that domestic production of synthetic fuels from the Rentech Process could help improve domestic energy security, reduce dependence on foreign oil, and stimulate the economy by creating investments in America and American jobs.”

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd sets up JV with US power firm

By iStockAnalyst.com

Source: Jiji Press English News Service)Tokyo, Feb. 2 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Monday it has established a joint venture with U.S. power firm Luminant to speed up the development of nuclear power reactors for a U.S. power plant.

The rest of the article can be read at istockanalyst.com

(c) 2009 Jiji Press English News Service. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

Wave device connects to wind turbine

By EnergySavingTrust.org.uk

A wave energy device that can be attached to an offshore wind turbine and raises its generating capacity has successfully passed a series of tests.

The Wave Treader device …..

The rest of the article can be read at EnergySavingTrust.org.uk

NASA and partners testing coal and gas F-T Synthetic jet fuels at 100% and 50% blend

By GreenCarCongress.com

The National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) and 11 other research groups, including researchers from the US Department of Defense (DoD), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are testing two synthetic jet fuels derived from gasified coal and natural gas using the Fischer-Tropsch process (Jet CTL and GTL).

The rest of the article can be read at GreenCarCongress.com