Vulcan Power scores $108 million

Vulcan-owned drilling rigs penetrate the Earth.

Bend-based geothermal company Vulcan Power Company received $108 million in financing from investment firm Denham Capital in February.

The most recent investment brings Denham Capital’s total stake in Vulcan to $166 million. It will allow Vulcan, which has more than 170,000 acres in leases of both federal and private land in Western states and power purchase agreements with utilities in California and Nevada, to develop projects expected to produce about 300 megawatts of power, the company says. 

The company currently has two projects going through the environmental permitting process—both are in western Nevada.

Though geothermal has higher upfront costs than other renewables, it has lower “all-in” costs, which makes it cost-competitive with fossil-fuel energy sources, says Vulcan’s acting CEO Robert Wharburton.

In October, U.S. Department of Energy announced that it would allocate $338 million in stimulus finds to support geothermal exploration and development. Meanwhile, the Geothermal Energy Association estimates that U.S. geothermal capacity will triple within the next five years.