DOE-887(89) EERE (NREL) Geothermal Barriers Survey (Pt 2)

A

I would best classify myself as:

	Geothermal Developer (see Section A)		State/Local Agency /Regulator (see Section D)
	Owner/Operator (see Section A)		Geothermal Support Services (see Section E)
	Renewable Energy Financier (see Section B)		University/Laboratory Researcher (see Section F)
	Utility (see Section C)		Other (describe): __________________________

     

ddendum

4. Which federal incentives have you taken advantage of?

		I/We HAVE USED this incentive:		I/We HAVE NOT USED this incentive because (check all that apply)
				Not familiar with incentive	Not available at the time	Not available long enough	Not applicable to project	Other
a. Production Tax Credits
b. Investment Tax Credits
c .Treasury Cash Grants
d. DOE Loan Guarantees
e. Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System

SECTION A – Operator/Owner

 

1. Which type of land ownership is preferable for geothermal development?

	Privately owned
	State-owned
	BLM-owned
	Don't know/Not applicable to my position

     

 

2. What is your average project size? ________MW

3. What is your annual operating budget?

	< $ 10 million
	$10 million to $50 million
	$50 million to $500 million
	> $500 million

              

5. Please rate the following finance phases according to difficulty to approve

	We do not finance	Least Difficult				Most Difficult
Exploration (non-drilling)	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
Exploration Drilling	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
Production Drilling	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
Construction of plant facility	N/A	1	2	3	4	5

SECTION B – Financier  

1. What is your target return on equity? ________%

2. What is your average placement size? $_______US M

3. How much does an experienced geothermal development management team influence your private equity placement decisions?

	Highly
	Somewhat
	None

              

 

4. What do you believe to be common pitfalls in getting financing for geothermal projects:

5. Please rate the following potential barriers to increasing geothermal in your portfolio.

	Not a Barrier	Small Barrier				Large Barrier
No geothermal in my area	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
No geothermal has approached us	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
Difficulty in meeting RPS set-asides for other renewables	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
Transmission not available	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
Cost too high	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
Other (describe):	N/A	1	2	3	4	5

SECTION C – Utility  

1. What percentage of your portfolio

do geothermal assets account for? ________%

2. What component of your portfolio offers the best ROE/ROI?

Natural Gas Geothermal Wind

Coal Biomass Solar

Nuclear Hydro Other              

 

3. What target percentage of your future portfolio

do geothermal assets account for? ________%

4. What technology comes with the most risk to utilities?

Natural Gas Geothermal Wind

Coal Biomass Solar

Nuclear Hydro Other

              

5. Please rate the following potential barriers to approving geothermal permits as it relates to your state/agency.

	Not a Barrier	Small Barrier				Large Barrier
Not enough personnel	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
Not enough geothermal knowledge for agency personnel	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
Permitting rules are vague	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
Permitting rules are cumbersome	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
Working with other agencies takes time	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
Permit applications are ambiguous/incomplete	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
Process has not been used enough to be efficient	N/A	1	2	3	4	5
Other (describe):	N/A	1	2	3	4	5

SECTION D – Regulator  

1. Does your state have a clear geothermal permitting process?

	Yes
	No

2. Does your state have a record of successful BLM lease sales?

	Yes
	No

            

 

3. Does your state have a Renewable Portfolio Standard in place?

	Yes
	No

3. If yes, What percentage of total renewable is

currently met with geothermal? ________%

     

SECTION E – Geothermal Services  

1. What type of service do you provide?

	Exploration		Permitting
	Drilling/Completion		Consulting/Legal
	Well field services		Power Generation
	Reservoir Assessment		Manufacturing
	Plant Design/Construction		Environmental Consulting
	Power Plant O&M		Marketing

            

SECTION F – Researcher  

1. What type of research do you conduct?

	Exploration Technologies		Reservoir Modeling
	Drilling Technologies		System Modeling
	Pump Technologies		Market & Policy Analysis
	Cooling Technologies		Technology Analysis
	Power Conversion