Is UTC Power's Geothermal Contract a Bad Deal?

A major player in geothermal well field exploration and the development of clean, renewable geothermal electric power plants, Raser Technologies, entered into a Purchase Contract with UTC Power, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation.

In connection with the purchase contract, Raser agreed to purchase approximately $33.38 million in UTC PureCycle geothermal heat-to-electricity power systems for use in geothermal power plants that the Company is seeking to develop, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

It's unclear as to whether this deal is a win for UTC Power. As of December 31, 2007, Raser had an accumulated deficit of approximately $51.2 million on cumulative revenues from inception of approximately $0.8 million. And, Raser only had $5.9 million in cash on hand. These funds will not last too long. Additional financing will be necessary in coming months to ensure compliance with the terms of the UTCP contract.

Although geothermal resources as clean energy offers a number of advantages over fossil fuel -- including reduced reliance on a dwindling resource and environmental, such as a material reduction in carbon emissions -- it is still in the incipient stage, with power purchase agreements totaling less than 1 percent of electricity produced in United States (with 90 percent of energy production located in California).

Investment considerations include drilling and operating costs associated with identifying and securing productive geothermal reservoirs for commercial build-out, competition for capital financing from other clean energies, improved subsurface technology, and needed federal and state tax credits.

Nonetheless, the Geothermal Energy Association predicts more than a doubling of U.S. geothermal power capacity-from 2,936 MW to almost 6,304 MW-enough to meet the needs of six million households, when existing projects are connected to the power grid in the next few years.