Raser Technologies (NYSE Arca: RZ [1]) has secured additional geothermal rights in its home state of Utah.

The company says it has signed eight lease agreements, marking a third batch of geothermal leases outside its historical Nevada focus, and are part of its strategy to establish a diversified geothermal resource portfolio.

Raser says it has secured the rights to the geothermal resources on 9,889 acres located in Central Utah. The leases carry ten-year terms and are renewable for additional periods based on development activity or upon the payment of minimum rental payments, it said.

The financial terms of the leases were undisclosed.

According to the company, oil and gas wells in the vicinity of the new leases encountered hot water at temperatures usable by Raser for generating power.

These leases bring the total land Raser has under lease in Utah to 28,091 acres.

“We continue to acquire access to the geothermal resources that we believe lie underground in the Intermountain West as part of our strategy to develop this vital, green energy source,” said Brent M. Cook, Raser’s CEO.

“Not only is geothermal power environmentally friendly, but we also believe that it represents part of the United States’ solution for energy independence. The entire nation should be adopting renewable energy portfolio standards, particularly those states in the geothermally active West.”

Raser is a publicly-traded technology licensing and development company. It focuses on geothermal power, as well as transportation and industrial technology to improve the efficiency of electric motors and other applications.