Raser Technologies, Inc. (NYSE Arca: RZ) today announced that it has begun taking delivery of the UTC Power, a United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) company, geothermal power generating units ordered for the first commercial scale geothermal power plant to be built in the state of New Mexico. The New Mexico site is a well studied, known geothermal resource which has provided direct use geothermal fluids to a local greenhouse operation for many years.
Additionally, it is anticipated that a UTC generation unit will be installed and operational in the greenhouse facility in the next two weeks by the local greenhouse owner. "This pilot installation will give UTC and Raser valuable early operational information during hot summer months, using the water from this specific geothermal resource," stated Steve Brown, Raser’s Executive Vice President of Construction.
Raser’s New Mexico project is located on approximately 2,500 acres. The surface area is privately owned by the greenhouse owner and leased to Raser in conjunction with a BLM geothermal lease for the resource. Recent flow tests of previously drilled well 55-7 indicate temperatures of 308 degrees F. Raser’s geothermal plant is planned to have a gross generation capacity of approximately 14 megawatts (MW) when configured under Raser’s proprietary geothermal power plant design.
The project with its 50 UTC modular generation units is expected to produce net generation between 10 and 11 MW or enough electricity to power approximately 5,500 homes in the Phoenix area. Net generation takes into account the station usage or parasitic load needed to pump the geothermal fluids throughout the plant. It is expected that power generation during the cooler months will exceed generation during the warmer months.
Raser recently announced that it had entered into a power purchase agreement with the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District (SRP), the third largest public power utility in the nation, to start delivering up to 10 MW of the clean renewable energy from its Lightning Dock plant in Hidalgo County, New Mexico by December 2008.
Richard Clayton, Raser’s Executive Vice President, discussed the importance of geothermal power and energy, saying, "Geothermal power from the UTC binary closed loop plants provides a reliable base load energy resource to utilities with zero emissions and the least intrusive impact to the environment. Raser has long stated its belief in the need for more, clean, non-polluting electricity. We are especially pleased to develop the first commercial geothermal power plant in the state of New Mexico on this promising resource."
About Raser Technologies
Raser is an environmentally focused technology licensing and development company operating in two business segments. Raser’s Power Systems segment is seeking to develop clean, renewable geothermal electric power plants and bottom-cycling operations, incorporating licensed heat transfer technology and Raser’s SymetronTM technology developed internally by its Transportation and Industrial Technology segment. Raser’s Transportation and Industrial Technology segment focuses on extended-range plug-in-hybrid vehicle solutions and using Raser’s award-winning SymetronTM technology to improve the torque density and efficiency of the electric motors and drive systems used in electric and hybrid-electric vehicle powertrains and industrial applications.
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