Raser just announced that the Department of Energy has denied the company a loan for its East Thermo project. Once complete, the East Thermo project would be located about 6 miles away from Raser’s existing Thermo No. 1 plant. In denying loan, the Department of Energy stated that “we believe that the East Thermo project possesses
fundamental strength, but would benefit from continued development….”

Raser has other financing options available, such as prepaid power purchase agreements like its agreement with Southern California Public Power Authority.

In a press release, Raser`s principal executive officer Dick Clayton commented on the notice:

“We understand the DOE`s decision and remain confident in our ability to fully develop our resources. We have other projects that are further along in the development process than East Thermo and are in better positions at this time
for both this and other loan guarantee programs. We are moving forward with SCPPA on the pre-paid power purchase agreement and believe that, if finalized, it will assist us in our development efforts at Thermo for the foreseeable future. We are also evaluating the recommendations made by the DOE and determining when the timing may be right to re-submit the East Thermo application.”