Vulcan’s former CEO to develop hot, high-pressure resources in Texas

Alexander Richter 4 Sep 2009

In a recent article on Vulcan Power’s former CEO Stephen Munson, details about the law suit he has filed against his former business partners are laid down in detail, but also the new plans of him in Texas.

According to the article “he’s formed a new company, GeoPower Texas, in Austin, Texas, with Bob King, founder and president of Austin consulting firm Good Company Associates Inc. They collaborated to get a geothermal green-power law passed in Texas. The company is working to develop hot, high-pressure sandstone reservoirs under the Texas Gulf Coast that are believed to contain 20,000 megawatts of geothermal power, about one-third of Texas’ load.

Munson has made some progress. He says he’s won a bid from the Texas General Land Office and owns 128,000 acres of exclusive geothermal leases. He says he’s teamed with General Electric Co., URS Corp. and the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology in seeking $5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to modify turbine designs to handle these unique resources.

“Multiple Texas utilities have expressed interest in providing long-term power purchase contracts now that the PUC [Public Utility Commission] is going to require utilities to purchase 500 megawatts of nonwind renewables,” he says. “I have received a lot of interest from funds and high-net-worth individuals seeking to invest. We are talking with them but always keeping the Vulcan experience in mind.”

It will for sure be interesting to follow this.

Source: The Deal Magazine