BOISE, IDAHO--(Marketwire - Oct. 14, 2008) - U.S. Geothermal Inc. (TSX:GTH)(AMEX:HTM) ("U.S. Geothermal"), a renewable energy company focused on the production of electricity from geothermal energy, announced today that the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") has chosen U.S. Geothermal's Raft River site in Idaho to demonstrate the viability of Enhanced Geothermal Systems ("EGS"). The Raft River EGS program totals up to $9 million, with the DOE providing up to $6 million as part of the cost-sharing arrangement. U.S. Geothermal will provide "in kind" contributions to the program through the use of several existing wells and technical data. The remaining team members are providing key contributions to the program. The program is designed to perform a monitored thermal stimulation of an existing injection well to improve permeability within the geologic horizon that hosts the Raft River geothermal reservoir.

This will pay for a part of the engineering required to develop the next phase of Raft River, and increse the future profitability of GTH.