Geothermal Loan Guaranty Program

Presently the US imports a large proportion of its petroleum requirements. This dependence on foreign petroleum has had a major impact on our economy. As a result, the Federal government is sponsoring programs to offset this foreign reliance by conservation of oil and gas, conversion of petroleum using facilities to coal and nuclear energy and the development of alternate sources of energy. One of the most acceptable alternate resources is geothermal. It offers an environmentally sound energy resource, can be developed at reasonable cost in comparison to other forms of energy and has a long term production capacity. On September 3, 1974, the Geothermal Energy Research Development and Demonstration Act was enacted to further the research, development and demonstration of geothermal energy technologies. This Act also established the Geothermal Loan Guaranty Program to assist in the financing of geothermal resource development, both electrical and non-electrical. The highlights of that Guaranty Program are detailed in this report