US Geothermal (HTM)

[nuketheshorts]

$350 Million In Geothermal Stimulus Funds Begin To Flow

Jun 08, 2009 (FinancialWire via COMTEX) -- (Comment on this article at
http://www.financialwire.net/2009/06/08/350-million-in-geothermal-stimulus-funds-begin-to-flow/)

June 8, 2009 (FinancialWire) -- U.S. Geothermal Inc. (AMEX: HTM) has been
selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to enter into due diligence review on
an $85 million project loan for its Neal Hot Springs project in eastern Oregon.
Geothermal initiatives have also been announced by Ormat Technologies, Inc.
(NYSE: ORA), WaterFurnace Renewable Energy, Inc. (TSX: WFI) and Chevron (NYSE:
CVX) the largest producer of geothermal energy in the world.

President Obama recently announced $320 million from the American Reinvestment
and Recovery Act to expand and accelerate the development, deployment, and use
of geothermal energy throughout the United States. The funding will help the
geothermal industries overcome technical barriers, demonstrate new technologies.

Geothermal energy is a clean source of renewable energy that harnesses heat from
the Earth for heating applications and electricity generation; geothermal plants
can operate around the clock to provide significant uninterrupted "base load"
electricity, or the minimum amount a power utility must provide to its
customers. The capability of geothermal to provide a significant supply of
uninterrupted base load electricity is beginning to be understood as metrics
that are larger than the potential for wind or solar. For more information, see
the U.S. Geothermal Power Production and Development Update
(http://www.geo-energy.org/publications/reports/Industry_Update_March_Final.pdf
for a comprehensive introduction to geothermal).

According to the Geothermal Energy Association March 2009 Industry Update, there
were 126 new geothermal 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. GEA estimates that bringing these projects on line will help
economic recovery by spurring as many as 100,000 new jobs.

The Recovery Act makes a $350 million new investment in this technology,
dwarfing previous government commitments. Recovery Act funding will support
projects in four crucial areas: geothermal demonstration projects; Enhanced
Geothermal Systems research and development; innovative exploration techniques;
and a National Geothermal Data System, Resource Assessment and Classification
System.

This geothermal update is provided to FinancialWire(tm) via the Green Market
Intelligence service (http://smecapitalmarkets.net/greenresearch.aspx) of
Austin, Texas-based SME Capital Markets (http://smecapitalmarkets.net) an
information resource that covers smaller public companies securities
registration, financial reporting, secondary markets, compliance, best practices
and emerging market opportunities -- a contributor of green market-focused news
for FinancialWire(tm).

FinancialWire(tm) is a fully independent, proprietary news wire service.
FinancialWire(tm) is not a press release service, and receives no compensation
for its news, opinions or distributions. Further disclosure is at the
FinancialWire(tm) web site (http://www.financialwire.net/disclosures.php) Contact FinancialWire(tm) directly via [e-mail].