U.S. Geothermal Announces Closing of C$10.9 Million Private Placement Financing

BOISE, IDAHO, Aug 17 (MARKET WIRE) --
U.S. Geothermal Inc. (the "Company") (TSX: GTH)(NYSE Amex: HTM) announced
today the closing of its private placement of 8,100,000 Subscription
Receipts, at C$1.35 per Subscription Receipt, for gross proceeds of
C$10,935,000.

Each Subscription Receipt will be automatically exchanged, without
additional consideration on the exchange date (described below), for one
Unit (a "Unit") of the Company. Each Unit consists of one share of common
stock of the Company and one half of one common stock purchase warrant (a
"Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one
additional share of common stock of the Company for a period of 24 months
following the closing of the offering for US$1.75 per share of common
stock. The net proceeds of the offering will be used by the Company for
drilling wells at the Neal Hot Springs geothermal project and for general
working capital purposes. The proceeds will not be subject to escrow.

The offering was co-led by Dundee Securities Corporation and Clarus
Securities Inc. and included Toll Cross Securities Inc. (collectively,
the "Agents"). The Agents received a commission of six percent of the
gross proceeds of the offering and compensation options giving them the
right to acquire, for 24 months following closing, an aggregate of
243,000 shares of common stock at a purchase price of the U.S. dollar
equivalent on the closing date of C$1.35 per share.

The subscription receipt exchange date will be the earlier of the date on
which the receipt is issued under Canadian Provincial securities laws for
a final prospectus qualifying the Common Stock and Warrants issuable upon
exercise of the Subscription Receipts or four months and one day after
the closing of this offering.

The Company has agreed to file a resale registration statement with the
Securities and Exchange Commission and to use commercially reasonable
efforts to cause it to become effective and remain effective for two
years.

The securities described herein have not been registered under the U.S.
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may
not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. persons unless an
exemption from registration is available. This news release does not
constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of
the securities in the United States.

About U.S. Geothermal:

U.S. Geothermal is a renewable energy development company that is
operating geothermal power plants at Raft River, Idaho and at the San
Emidio Desert in Nevada. The Neal Hot Springs project in eastern Oregon
is being developed and is expected to be operational in 2011. The San
Emidio project is currently under development to replace the existing old
power plant with a new efficient plant. U.S. Geothermal holds, through
ownership or lease, geothermal rights of lands that comprise the Raft
River project in Idaho, San Emidio, Granite Ranch, and Gerlach in Nevada,
and the Neal Hot Springs project in Oregon.

The information provided in this news release may contain forward-looking
statements within the definition of the Safe Harbor provisions of the US
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements
regarding the ability to complete the private placement, the use of
proceeds of the anticipated offering, drilling plans, or development
possibilities at Neal Hot Springs. These statements are based on U.S.
Geothermal Inc.'s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ
materially from those described. Readers are cautioned to review the risk
factors identified by the company in its filings with Canadian and US
securities agencies. Forward-looking statements are based on management's
expectations, beliefs and opinions on the date the statements are made.
U.S. Geothermal Inc. assumes no obligation to update forward-looking
statements if management's expectations, beliefs, or opinions, or other
factors, should change.

The NYSE Amex and the Toronto Stock Exchange
do not accept responsibility for the adequacy of this release.

Contacts:
U.S. Geothermal Inc.
Saf Dhillon
Investor Relations
866-687-7059
208-424-1030 (FAX)
saf@usgeothermal.com
www.usgeothermal.com

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