Raser Technologies builds global reputation with geothermal strategy

Source: Energy Digital

Date :29/04/2008 02:19:44

CEO Brent Cook (pictured) explains how his company’s flexibility and broad understanding of the industry is making Raser Technologies a leader in geothermal solutions.

Written by Emmet Cole and produced by Michael Alexander Jones

Raser Technologies CEO Brent Cook doesn’t mince words when predicting the future of the geothermal power industry. “The companies that understand all three aspects of the industry are going to succeed in the future. The first is the power industry. The second is geothermal, based on geophysics, which is where most geothermal companies are focused right now. The third is tax equity structuring, meaning some of the tax incentives are very compelling and when utilized properly can totally reshape the industry.”

By maximizing on this convergence, and by combining its hybrid engine technology with geothermal development in what it calls a “Well to Wheel” strategy, Raser is pioneering green energy strategies, producing power and making it easy for environmentally-conscious investors to get involved.

When Cook arrived at Raser, the company had established a good reputation through its Symetron Motor and Controller Technology - highly efficient, high-torque applications, which helped pioneer electric hybrid cars. In fact, Raser is a founding member of the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Consortium.

But at a previous job, Cook had fallen in love with the green potential of geothermal technology and after sensing an opportunity in an emerging industry, he made the renewable energy source Raser Technology’s top priority starting in 2005.

Changing the industry model

Most geothermal companies, Cook says, take a geology-based “homerun” approach to plant development, searching only for big hotspots with the most power potential. Geologists can spend years trying to find these spots, and another three to five years studying the site before deployment.

Raser believes in a different strategy…

April 29, 2008

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