vulcan in the news

G3 Power Plan: New Green Power For 2.5 Million Americans From Geothermal Steam Boom In Northwest Nevada

Bend, OR. Vulcan Power Company today announced the G3 Power Plan, a preliminary plan for green grid transmission upgrades to deliver a “green gigawatt” (1,000 megawatts) of clean geothermal power to Los Angeles and Las Vegas from massive natural steam zones located in northwest Nevada. Maps and full article text can be found at http://www.G3Plan.com.

Scientists at the Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy at University Nevada Reno estimate that 2,500 megawatts (MW) of geothermal natural steam exists in northern Nevada, according to the recent press release of director Dr. Lisa Shevenell. This clean steam fuel could generate power for 2.5 million people, corroborating the US Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) observation that Nevada is the “Saudi Arabia of Geothermal”.

Natural geothermal steam well at Carson Lake, NV, one of six major Vulcan sites.

There has already been about 240 MW of geothermal online in Nevada for 15 years, which is evenly split between Nevada and California utility buyers Sierra Pacific Resources and Southern California Edison Company, the nation’s largest renewable power purchaser.

But new green grid upgrades are needed for Nevada steamfields to grow up to 2,500 MW, supplying a “green gigawatt” (1,000 MW) each to California and Nevada. Seven companies with advanced sites have been selected to supply progressive Nevada and California utilities with about 500 MW of geothermal, with over half utilizing these grid upgrades.

“The geothermal genie,” said Vulcan board member Sandy Lonsdale, “is being held hostage by antiquated transmission lines from northern Nevada to California and southern Nevada.”

Lonsdale is also the former president of the Juniper Chapter of the Sierra Club. He is Chairman of Vulcan’s Native Restoration Fund (NRF) which plans to give 5% of Vulcan project income back to fund habitat restoration and tribal restoration projects. NRF was the brainchild of the Vulcan CEO and Jon Wellinghoff, a former Vulcan board member and current Commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. “The green grid can be a win-win for the land and Americans both in rural areas and our cities,” he added.

Vulcan’s CFO, Bryan Urban, has previously managed large power and transmission projects as CFO of Panda Energy, who financed and built $5.5 billion of successful power projects. “New geothermal projects are attracting finance community support,” Mr. Urban said.

He added, “Merrill Lynch Commodities invested $35 million in Vulcan. Vulcan now has a $100 million institutional private placement underway. Vulcan has a large portfolio of geothermal contracts and owns one of the largest geothermal property positions in the nation, with resources independently rated at over 700 MW.”

“G3 Plan transmission economics are very compelling,” said Vulcan board member Richard Rodgers, a former senior banker at Bank of America. “Geothermal is a bargain for California, particularly when compared to new gas fired power, believed to cost $0.096 per kWh. The first 1,000 MW of new geothermal could justify building about $4 billion worth of grid upgrades and doubling that output justifies $8 billion in upgrades.”

Cost estimates for the G3 Plan are expected in the second quarter of 2008 while very preliminary “Green Tap” budget estimates have been received. Electranix recently estimated a 500 MW tap on the 3,100 MW Pacific DC Intertie line in Nevada will cost $125 to $180 million and a 1,000 MW tap from $170 to $250 million, depending on design, location and if it connects with Sierra Pacific to provide counterflow power to Nevada.

G3 benefits also include the economic and environmental benefits of clean power, which exceed $18 billion and nearly 2 billion gallons of groundwater savings per year.

The G3 Plan team includes former transmission planning executives Jim Kritikson of SCE and Robert Jackson of SDG&E, DC line specialist Electranix and Ed Evatz, former deputy director Nevada USBLM. Ed Evatz said, “the G3 Power Plan welcomes stakeholder comments, ideas and questions by email or shared at local small town meetings that G3 will be scheduling. The team has held meetings and is contacting other stakeholders in both states.”

The full article covers project benefits, public outreach, transmission costs and maps with public comment email address which can be found at http://www.G3Plan.com.

Contact:

Christa Wicks, AA
(541) 317-1984

Bend Bulletin - Investors Warm Up to Geothermal Power

Click here to view the Bend Bulletin article.

Merrill Lynch Commodity Partners Invests in Vulcan Power, A Renweable Geothermal Power Development Company

Bend, OR – May 1, 2007 - Merrill Lynch Commodity Partners (“MLCP”), the principal energy investment business of Merrill Lynch, closed on a $35 million principal investment in Vulcan Power Company (“Vulcan” or the “Company”) last week.
 
Vulcan is a private entity holding one of the largest geothermal property portfolios in the United States including properties in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Arizona. The MLCP investment is the first stage of a $150 million private round of financing by Vulcan to develop prime geothermal property with potential to generate 900 megawatts (MW) to 2,000 MW of natural steam fuel – enough clean green power for up to two million people, according to third-party resource reports on Vulcan properties.

Geothermal energy involves drilling for heated water reservoirs, which produce steam that can be used as an alternative to fossil fuels burned to generate electricity. This process avoids the production of emissions including carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas. The life of the geothermal reservoir is extended by re-injecting condensed water back into the reservoir.

David Owens, Managing Director and Principal of MLCP, led the negotiations and structuring of the transaction. “Vulcan is an emerging leader in the expanding industry of renewable energy,” Owens said.  “The Vulcan portfolio of long term, fixed-price power contracts and geothermal leases puts them in a strong competitive position.”

“We believe that an investment in Vulcan is critical to accelerate development of geothermal resources to benefit the environment,” added Rob Jones, Head of the Global Energy and Power Group and Principal of MLCP.

Vulcan was founded in 1991 by Steve Munson, the company’s chairman and CEO. Mr. Munson is a recognized expert on ‘green’ power development, having participated in federal and state power policy, regulatory and legislative process. He is widely credited in the energy industry for his leading role in new Renewable Portfolio Standard laws in the Western United States.

Vulcan acquired many geothermal leases when some of the major energy companies were exiting geothermal after investing tens of millions of dollars into steam exploration – work that Vulcan is now reaping the benefits of.

“Many of our properties in advanced stages of development have been the subject of more than $50 million in development expenditures before Vulcan acquired them,” said Munson, “Vulcan has also invested an additional $21 million of development expenditures to date.”

Vulcan holds a property portfolio of geothermal leases and applications covering more than 136,000 acres.  The company is focused on delivering geothermal power to California, the largest green power market in the world, and Nevada from properties in northern California, Nevada and a joint venture in Oregon.

Vulcan has signed 20-year term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Nevada Power Company, Pacific Gas & Electric Company and Southern California Edison Company. It is also negotiating additional PPAs with other utilities.  For additional information on Vulcan and geothermal power, go to www.vulcanpower.com.

Contact:

Vulcan Power
Mark Albert
Vice President
(541) 317-1984
malbert@vulcanpower.com

Merrill Lynch
Terez Hanhan
Media Relations
(212) 449-0024
terez_hanhan@ml.com

Merrill Lynch
Danielle Robinson
Media Relations
(212) 449-0097
danielle_robinson@ml.com      

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company has received approval from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to move forward with plans to contract for new supplies of renewable power from the Military Pass Road-Newberry (Vulcan) Geothermal generating facility in Newberry, Oregon. The contract will deliver up to 120-megawatts of clean renewable energy under California's Renewables Portfolio Standards (RPS) Program, enough power to serve 90,000 PG&E customers.

"The geothermal power from the Vulcan project further enhances PG&E's diverse supply of clean, renewable energy, and will help ensure that PG&E continues to have one of the lowest rates of air emissions in the country," said Fong Wan, vice president of energy procurement. "The commission's quick approval demonstrates a shared dedication toward accelerating our reliance on renewable power toward the goal of 20 percent by 2010."

PG&E has a long history of developing, generating, and purchasing renewable power. The utility currently supplies 12% of its customer load from renewable resources that qualify under California's RPS Program. In total, about 50% of the power that PG&E delivers to its customers comes from generating resources that emit no carbon dioxide, the primary contributor to global warming.

Since PG&E began its RPS Program, it has entered into contracts for nearly 1,100-megawatts of renewable energy -- wind, geothermal, biomass and hydro resources -- enough power to serve more than 800,000 customers. California's RPS Program requires each investor-owned utility to increase its procurement of eligible renewable generating resources by 1% of load per year to achieve a 20% renewables goal. The RPS Program was passed by the Legislature and is managed by the CPUC and California Energy Commission.

Copyright © 2006 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.

Date: Friday December 1, 5:01 pm ET

>> Vulcan Completes Geophysical Work at Salt Wells

Salt Wells, NV -- Vulcan Power Company today announced the completion of field work for two geophysical surveys at its Salt Wells, Nevada, geothermal production site. The results indicate the site shows tremendous promise as a location for geothermal energy production to meet Vulcan’s goal of developing 120 MW of renewable energy to service its signed power contract.

The first study was a 3-Point Schlumberger resistivity mapping investigation which led to an innovative E-SCAN 3-D resistivity report by Premier Geophysics US, Inc.  With the completion of the report, Vulcan geoscientists will now make decisions on optimal drilling locations at the site.  Vulcan anticipates beginning drill operations in the first quarter of 2007.

Date: July 21, 2006.   Contact: Jim Kiser

>> Vulcan Power Enters Drill Rig Agreement

Bend, OR -- In an effort to streamline development of its geothermal projects, Vulcan Power Company, the leading new geothermal energy development company, announced today it has entered into a joint venture agreement to form a new company which will own up to 12 drill rigs.

With this joint venture, Vulcan will avoid the lengthy delays and considerable uncertainty other geothermal developers are experiencing in securing drill rigs for project sites in order to complete exploration and development milestones.  The joint venture now owns two large state-of–the-art double rigs capable of drilling to 10,000 feet and has options to acquire 10 brand new triple rigs by the end of 2007, each capable of drilling to 15,000 feet. 

 

This Vulcan drill rig joint venture ensures that Vulcan geothermal projects will have rigs capable of completing all its wellfield development for signed geothermal PPAs totaling 420 MW.

 

Date: July 3, 2006.  Contact: Jim Kiser

>> PG&E to Buy Vulcan Geothermal Electricity

On March 6, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) announced its contract with Military Pass-Newberry Volcano Project, LLC (a subsidiary of Vulcan Power – Bend, OR) to purchase up to 120 megawatts (MW) of renewable geothermal energy resources to help meet its customers’ future electricity needs.

“The addition of this geothermal generation further adds to PG&E’s diverse and renewable energy resources, and ensure that more than 30 percent of our northern and central California customers’ energy needs with come from hydroelectricity and renewable sources,” said PG&E Vice President of Energy Procurement Fong Wan. “These new resources will add to a generating portfolio that already has one of the lowest rates of air emissions in the country.”

PG&E has a long history of developing, generating and, purchasing renewable power. The utility currently supplies 30 percent of its customer load from renewable resources, including 18 percent from its large hydroelectric facilities and 12 percent from small renewable resources that qualify under the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) program. This agreement represents another milestone for PG&E towards its goal of supplying 20 percent of customer needs with qualifying renewable energy.

This is PG&E’s final contract originating from its 2004 solicitation, and brings total additional renewable generation to 353 MW. PG&E is currently in discussion with certain market participants that submitted bids during its 2005 solicitation, and will be submitting additional contracts for renewable energy in the next few months.

To continue increasing its renewable energy portfolio, PG&E recently filed protocols with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for its 2006 renewable energy procurement solicitation. In its upcoming solicitation, the utility is seeking to procure and additional 1 to 2 percent of customer electricity needs. PG&E anticipates issuing the solicitation in early summer, after receiving CPUC approval. It will be the utility’s fourth competitive solicitation for renewable energy since 2002. Since then, it has entered into contracts for 563 MW of power from wind, geothermal, biomass, and hydro resources (including the current Vulcan contract).

California’s RPS law requires each utility to increase its procurement of eligible renewable generating resources by 1 percent of load per year to achieve a 20-percent statewide renewables goal. The RPS is managed by the CPUC and the California Energy Commission.

A subsequent article in the Mount Shasta Herald said Vulcan holds 11 pending lease applications for geothermal power on 18,000 acres at the Mount Shasta volcano in northern California. The applications date from 1992. Vulcan said it is interested only in the Northwest Military Pass Project in the Hotlum area.

The U.S. Forest Service will conduct an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) review and make a recommendation to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on whether or not a lease should be issued. An EIS review the environmental consequences of a project and informs the public about potential social, physical, biological, and economic impacts. BLM will make a final determination as to whether or not the geothermal project should proceed.

According to the article, Vulcan Power is aiming for a 30-MW geothermal power plant with a possible additional plant of the same size. The company expects the permitting process to take 12 to 18 months. Vulcan plans a number of measures during project development that will protect the environment. The company has established a Native Restoration Fund that will contribute 5 percent of the facility’s income to a Native Plant Habitat Restoration Project and a Cultural Restoration Project. Vulcan officials said that Siskiyou County will receive 25 percent of geothermal energy production royalties the company pays to the federal government.

Geothermal Bulletin
Volume 35 / Number 2
March / April 2006
Pages 45 and 46

 

>> SCE Signs New Renewable Power Contracts

  

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Corporate Communications
(626) 302-2255
www.edisonnews.com

 

SCE Signs Six New Renewable Power Contracts

 

ROSEMEAD, Calif., March 9, 2005 - Southern California Edison (SCE) has submitted for review by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) six new long-term contracts with power generators using wind, biomass, and geothermal energy. 

 

If approved by the CPUC, the contracts would add as much as 427 megawatts* (MW) to SCE's renewable power portfolio, already the nation's largest, when construction is completed between 2006 and 2009.

 

"We congratulate the winning bidders in our second major solicitation under California's new renewable portfolio standard," said SCE CEO Alan Fohrer.  "These contracts represent a significant step in SCE's continuing commitment to renewable energy as well as the implementation of the state's renewable policy."

 

 

Five of the contracts would result in the construction of new renewable generation capacity at a time when California is attempting to cope with surging population growth and electricity demand.  The sixth involves the significant expansion of an existing facility.

 

"We are encouraged that this solicitation process has yielded competitively priced renewable power for our customers requiring no state subsidy," said SCE Vice President of Power Procurement Pedro Pizarro.  "We will continue to look for opportunities to add to our renewable portfolio."

 

More than 150 independent renewable power producers are under contract to SCE.  They can generate more than 2,500 MW of electricity - approximately 18.2% of the power SCE delivered to its customers during 2004.  California's renewable portfolio standard requires that investor-owned utilities obtain 20% of their power from renewable sources by 2010.

 

Related Facts

• SCE leads the nation in renewable power delivery, procuring more than 13,000 gigawatt-hours** of renewable energy in 2004, more than any U.S. utility or state except for California.
• SCE's current renewable portfolio can deliver 2,588 MW of electricity
• 1,021 MW from wind energy
• 892 MW from geothermal
• 354 MW from solar
• 226 MW from biomass
• 95 MW from small hydro

 

*A megawatt is enough power to serve 750 average homes during summer months.

**A gigawatt equals one billion watts.

 

# # #

 

An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation's largest electric utilities, serving a population of more than 13 million via 4.6 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within central, coastal and Southern California.