Vulcan Power Company, a geothermal development company, has announced it has restarted drilling at the Patua geothermal well, located near Fernley, Nevada (USA).

The drilling project has been halted, but is now back in business, after the company received USD 108 million in equity investment from Denham Capital. The investment allowed the company to move on with the project, and over the next 24 months, Vulcan Power will work to complete Phase I of the Patua project. Once completed, it is expected Patua, the company's first geothermal project, will be capable of generating about 60 MW of power.

The focus within the project at the moment will be on geo-science activities, core hole drilling, and drilling of full-sized production wells, in order to evaluate the reservoir's full potential.

After these activities, the company will continue with construction, after obtaining the necessary permits and licenses. Commercial operation of the power plant is expected in Q1 2012. The entire power output of the Patua geothermal power plant will be sold through a 20-year PPA, which is currently being finalized in negotiations.

[source: Vulcan Power, image: Vulcan Power]