ThermaSource wins drilling contract in Nicaragua

<p>Santa Rosa geothermal company ThermaSource Inc. said Tuesday it won a contract to drill new wells at a growing geothermal energy complex in Nicaragua. </p><p>It's the company's first deal in the Central American country, which has a large untapped thermal resource, according energy analysts. ThermaSource also is working in other Latin American locations, company spokesman Patrick Hanson said.</p><p>“It's a new hot spot for geothermal,” he said. </p><p>ThermaSource has about 190 employees worldwide, including 45 at its Santa Rosa headquarters. </p><p>Under the contract, ThermaSource will drill two production wells and multiple injection wells at the San Jacinto-Tizate Project near the city of Leon. </p><p>The Santa Rosa company was awarded the contract by Polaris Energy Nicaragua S.A., a subsidiary of Reno-based Ram Power Corp. </p><p>Polaris has a 10-megawatt geothermal power plant at the Nicaragua site that it is expanding to generate 72 megawatts by the end of 2011. The electricity is sold to Nicaraguan utilities. </p><p>The drilling contract with ThermaSource “represents a major milestone in the completion of the San Jacinto-Tizate expansion,” said Stuart Johnson, a Ram Power vice president. “We believe that Nicaragua is quickly becoming one of the leading Central American countries developing geothermal power.” </p><p>The companies didn't disclose the value of the deal.</p><p>Under terms of the deal, a ThermaSource subsidiary, Tecton Geologic, will provide drilling records for the project. </p><p>ThermaSource will add several staff members for the project and hire about 50 workers in Nicaragua, Hanson said. The project is expected to last about 14 months. </p><p>The company was founded in Santa Rosa in 1980 by Louis Capuano, who still serves at its CEO. ThermaSource is active at The Geysers in Sonoma and Lake counties, where it is currently working for Calpine and the Northern California Power Agency. </p><p>It is also working at geothermal sites in Southern California, Oregon, Chile, Turkey and the Caribbean. </p><p>In addition to drilling services, the company provides geothermal engineering, supplies and consulting. </p><p>ThermaSource is majority owned by trio of private equity funds, U.S. Renewables Group, Riverstone Holdings and Rustic Canyon Partners.</p>