Geothermal Elbowing its Way into the Mainstream

As I’ve mentioned a few times, geothermal looks to be approaching a rolling boil. A few more positive indicators on the sector presented themselves over the past week. First came news last week that the state of Alaska will reduce royalty rates for geothermal projects on state lands. Previously, state geothermal royalties had been set at a towering 10 to 15% of gross revenues. Under the new legislation, this will fall to 1.75% during the first ten years of income-generating production. After ten years, the rate increases modestly to 3.5%. This is a major boost for Alaskan geothermal. A 10% royalty is hefty, even for more established industries like oil and gas. It would push most geothermal projects to the brink of viability. More importantly, the…