BOISE, Idaho, April 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- U.S. Geothermal Inc. ("U.S. Geothermal") (OTC Bulletin Board: UGTH; TSX.V: GTH) CEO Daniel Kunz has been invited to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Energy and Minerals Resources.
Kunz will testify Thursday, April 19 about the potential for concentrated geothermal power technologies and what challenges and issues impact development of geothermal resources on public lands.
"Geothermal projects have a unique and growing importance in the supply of green energy because they offer a consistent supply of clean, reliable, low emission power," said Daniel Kunz, president and chief executive officer of Boise-based, U.S. Geothermal. "The technology needed to convert geothermal heat to electricity is tried, true, and currently available with low technology risk."
U.S. Rep. Bill Sali (R-Idaho) is a member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Minerals Resources and plans on attending the hearing.
Kunz will emphasize to the subcommittee how the pace of growth of geothermal energy can benefit greatly from federal government deployment of resources in federal land leasing programs and the extension of critical high voltage transmission infrastructure in the West.
"I urge Congress to boldly support this domestic energy source and provide specific incentives for new geothermal exploration," said Kunz. "Our public lands have potentially vast stores of geothermal energy that can help our nation address its energy and environmental needs."
* CEO Daniel Kunz will be testifying before Congress at 2 p.m., EST; Thursday, April 19; at 1334 Longworth House Office Building
* A live audio webcast of the testimony is available at: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/hearings/hearingdetail.aspx?NewsID=54
About US Geothermal:
U.S. Geothermal is a renewable energy development company that is in the process of constructing a geothermal power project at Raft River, Idaho and developing Neal Hot Springs in eastern Oregon. U.S. Geothermal holds, through ownership or lease, geothermal rights of private lands that comprise the Raft River project in Southeastern Idaho. The Raft River geothermal site is currently under construction of a 13 MW power plant expected to be online in the fourth quarter of 2007. On the basis of a report prepared by the company's independent consultant, GeothermEx Inc., of Richmond California, the site has a 50% probability of a power production capacity of 15.6 MW per square mile which may translate to 100 MW or more. U.S. Geothermal has signed a power sales contract for one 10MW power plant with the Idaho Power Company, is in negotiations for an additional 26 MW with new customers, and has secured transmission for up to 36MW with the Bonneville Power Administration.
Please visit our Website at: http://www.usgeothermal.com/
The information provided in this news release contains forward-looking statements within the definition of the Safe Harbor provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding potential energy resources and projects, development possibilities for Raft River and Neal Hot Springs. These statements are based on US Geothermal Inc.'s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, including the risks that financing will not be available for construction of the power plants, construction will not be completed on budget or on schedule, and the revenues generated under the power sales agreements will not prove sufficient to fund operations and/or service debt, among others. Readers are cautioned to review the risk factors identified by the company in its filings with Canadian and US securities agencies. Forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations, beliefs and opinions on the date the statements are made. U.S. Geothermal Inc. assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if management's expectations, beliefs, or opinions, or other factors, should change.
The TSX Venture and OTC Bulletin Board Exchanges do not accept responsibility for the adequacy of this release.
