Geothermal developer Vulcan Power Company and private investment firm Denham Capital announced that an affiliate of Denham Capital has invested $108 million in preferred and common stock of Vulcan.
This is the second investment by the affiliate, making a total investment of $166 million. Other shareholders include a principal investing division of Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Vulcan’s geothermal property portfolio consists of approximately 170,000 acres of geothermal properties in Nevada, California, Oregon and Arizona. The new investment will allow Vulcan to continue its ongoing development of properties representing more than 300 megawatts (MW) of estimated geothermal resources from just half of the company’s total acreage.
The company has long-term power sales contracts with California and Nevada utilities and transmission access to northern and southern California already completed or underway. The permitting process for two of its project sites is also underway.
Robert Warburton, acting CEO of Vulcan, commented on the financing: “Geothermal development requires greater capital investment upfront compared to other renewable power projects, but once built, geothermal has significantly lower all-in costs making it very competitive with traditional, non-renewable generation sources. Denham understands both the below ground and above ground dynamics of geothermal development, making them a great resource to Vulcan. This investment ensures Vulcan has the capital to continue the execution of its development program.”
According to the Geothermal Energy Association, electricity generation capacity from geothermal energy in the United States is expected to triple within five years, supported by a federal government stimulus allocation of $400 million. In coming years installed capacity is expected to be nearly 10 gigawatts, enough to supply 10 million homes.
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