Seismic Activity a concern for planed Newberry Geothermal plant December 15, 2009

Small earthquakes can be triggered from geothermal efforts like the one proposed for Newberry Crater, which use water pressure to create a network of tiny cracks deep below the Earth’s surface.

“When they fracture rock, they’re automatically creating earthquakes,” said Dennise Templeton, a seismologist with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. “The whole issue is how big they are, and can they be mitigated so they’re not affecting people at the surface.”

In Basel, Switzerland, an enhanced geothermal project was shut down last week because of earthquakes that rattled homes. And at the Geysers in California, a project has been put on hold while the company addresses drilling problems and the Energy Department reviews seismic information in response to news reports.

But developers of the Newberry project, which recently received $25 million in federal stimulus funds, say the geology and the fracturing techniques proposed for the site south of Bend lessen the chances that people would feel any ground movement locally.

“We’re causing what are basically microscopic cracks in the rock to move,” said Don O’Shei, CEO of AltaRock, which is working with Davenport Energy on the Newberry geothermal project.

While seismometers measuring ground movement might pick up on that activity, he said, the vast majority of the quakes would be less than around 1.0 magnitude, and people would be “completely unaware they’re happening.”

Earthquakes produced by enhanced geothermal systems happen when crews drill a well, then inject pressurized water thousands of feet below the surface to fracture the rock.

The idea is to later circulate water through these fractures, heating it up before it’s pumped back to the surface to generate power from the heat.

AltaRock and Davenport are proposing to test the technique west of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, but still have to go through the permitting and environmental review process with the Bureau of Land Management, which will take months. Davenport previously drilled exploratory wells in the area but didn’t find the steam or hot water necessary for traditional geothermal power.

In the enhanced geothermal technique, “as you inject water down in the well to mine the heat, it opens up fractures,” said John Lund, director of the Geo-Heat Center at the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls.

“And as these fractures pop open, they release energy, and that energy is picked up on a seismograph.”

Most of the earthquakes from enhanced geothermal projects are small, he said, with some reaching around a magnitude of 3.0 — which is about the size at which people will feel some movement.

“Some of the lodges in the (Newberry) caldera might feel some of them,” he said, adding “I think it’s not going to be anything serious.”

During the permitting process for a project like Newberry, a seismologist would probably study the area and say whether earthquakes might be felt in nearby communities, he said.

Still, because the fracturing is happening at depths shallower than earthquakes normally occur, people might be able to feel smaller earthquakes, said John Vidale, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.

“The closer it is to the surface, the smaller magnitude you can feel,” he said — and people might be able to feel a shallow magnitude 2.0 quake.

But with the geothermal issue, problems can stem from people’s perception of the quakes — whether or not they feel them.

“If there’s a lot of little earthquakes, even if there’s not much damage, people get really nervous,” he said. And that nervousness can be a legitimate concern for project developers, Vidale added.

Seismologists are realizing that there are areas of rock deep below the surface that are under stress and could generate earthquakes, he said. And the only way to know for sure what will happen at Newberry is to start the project.

“The only real way to know how many earthquakes will be generated is to start pumping fluids (into the rock),” Vidale said. “It’s hard to predict ahead of time.”

But O’Shei with AltaRock said that the Newberry project has key differences from the Switzerland effort.

In Basel, crews intentionally drilled into a large fault, hoping to use the pent-up energy of the fault to create fractures.

But Newberry is seismically stable, he said, and the local project’s engineers don’t want to create the whole network of faults at once — they want to generate multiple smaller systems.

“We can control it and do much smaller fracturing,” he said.

Crews will have sensitive monitoring equipment that will be able to tell them where the fractures are occurring, O’Shei said.

And if too much rock is moving, or the cracks are going in an unwanted direction, they can ramp down the volume or pressure of the water to stop the process, he said.

The Basel drilling rig was right in the middle of the city, he said, where many buildings were built hundreds of years ago.

“There’s all kinds of medieval construction there that’s very fragile,” O’Shei said.

And because Basel is on a major fault, while Newberry isn’t, the rocks at Newberry should be less likely to move, he said.

“A place that generally is seismically active is likely to be more sensitive to anything you would do there,” O’Shei said.

Kate Ramsayer, Bend Bulletin – http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091215/NEWS0107/912150393/-1/RSSNEWSMAP

Boise is one of the world’s leading geothermal cities December 11, 2009

This week world leaders gathering in Copenhagen for the United Nations Climate Change Conference are feeling the geothermal heat that is part of the energy solution for Copenhagen and for cities and countries around the world. In fact, Copenhagen could meet 50 percent of its district heating needs by using its geothermal resources.

With Copenhagen in the spotlight this week as an example of geothermal’s potential, the Geothermal Energy Association has identified 10 leading geothermal cities around the globe.

Boise made the list for several reasons: the city’s public works department has the largest direct use geothermal system in the U.S.; the city’s geothermal system injects 100 percent of the water back into the aquifer; the Idaho State Capitol is among several buildings in the Capitol Mall area that are heated by the system and Boise built its first geothermal heating system in 1892.

Last week the Boise City Council passed three resolutions furthering its commitment to using geothermal resources — increasing the city’s geothermal pumping limit, tying in with the Warm Springs water district to supplement its geothermal supplies and setting a policy for extending city geothermal lines to private property.

These agreements represent an “opportunity to maximize a resource that is about as good as it gets when it comes to climate change. Lowering our carbon footprint and being responsible with resources to the benefit of our citizens,” Mayor Dave Bieter said during the Dec. 1 council meeting.

In addition to Boise, other cities the international geothermal association recognized as examples of world leaders in geothermal municipal development include:

• Copenhagen, Denmark: Having set a target of zero carbon emissions by 2025, Copenhagen is a leader in clean energy alternatives and could meet 50 percent of its district heating needs by using its geothermal resources.

• Reykjavik, Iceland: With a high level of geothermal activity and insightful developments by the Icelanders over the years, 87 percent of Iceland’s buildings are heated geothermally.

• Reno, Nevada: City and business leaders have been encouraged by the success and remarkable potential of the energy source and are marketing Reno as a geothermal center for industry activities, corporate offices and research facilities.

• Perth, Australia: Perth has declared its intention to enter the geothermal community with a new twist — as the very first geothermally cooled city with commercial geothermal-powered heating and air-conditioning units.

• Xianyang, China: Recently deemed “China’s Official Geothermal City,” in the largest emissions-producing nation in the world, Xianyang is helping China achieve the goal they set of 16 percent renewables by 2020 — up from 7 percent in 2005. Also of note, Beijing famously used geothermal pumps to power the 2008 Olympics.

• Madrid, Spain: Madrid’s regional government is on board with six renewable energy projects, one of which is a 8-megawatt geothermal district heating project.

• Masdar City, Abu Dhabi: The city’s goal is to function 100 percent on renewable energy; a shining example to the rest of the world. The city plans to obtain half of its power from geothermal resources.

• Klamath Falls, Oregon: Geothermal has been used for space heating since the turn of the century and for a variety of uses including heating homes, schools, businesses, swimming pools, and for snow melt systems for sidewalks and highway. In addition, geothermal provides Oregon Institute of Technology’s 11-building campus all of its heating needs.

Cynthia Sewell, Idaho Statesman – http://www.idahostatesman.com/boise/story/1003511.html

Klamath Falls makes Int’l top 10 geothermal energy use list December 11, 2009

The Geothermal Energy Association on Thursday named Klamath Falls one of the world’s top 10 cities to embrace geothermal energy.

The Washington, D.C., trade association cited Klamath’s Oregon Institute of Technology, which heats its entire 11-building campus using geothermal energy. It also noted how Klamath Falls has used geothermal energy as a source of space heating since the turn of the century, and still uses it to heat schools, homes, businesses, swimming pools and snowmelt systems for public roads and sidewalks.

Klamath Falls is just one of three U.S. cities on the list, joining Reno, Nev., and Boise, Idaho.

The rest of the list includes: Copenhagen, Denmark; Larderello, Italy; Reykjavik, Iceland; Perth, Australia; Xianyang, China; Madrid, Spain; and Masdar City, Abu Dhabi.

Geothermal energy is produced when extreme underground temperatures heat water to produce steam, much like a conventional boiler. It becomes renewable when production facilities, which run the steam through a turbine, reinject the water back into the ground so it can reheat.

Portland Business Journal - http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/12/07/daily47.html

Malhuer Co. Geothermal project is a go December 2, 2009

A project in Malheur County to develop, produce and sell electricity from geothermal energy is moving ahead now after a conditional use permit from the Malheur County Planning Commission for the construction was issued.

The permits will clear the way for U.S. Geothermal’s proposed 22 net-megawatt power plant at Neal Hot Springs, west of Bully Creek Reservoir.

According to information provided by the company on its Web site, construction of the plant is currently scheduled to begin next year and is slated to be online by late 2011. Estimated cost of construction is $106 million.

U.S. Geothermal is in the running for a U.S. Department of Energy Loan, which, if obtained, would cover 80 percent of the construction cost. The due diligence review on the loan is now in progress.

The company received permits for four exploration wells from the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries based on early test results.

Negotiations are underway for a long-term power agreement for the sale of the power.

U.S. Geothermal, a renewable energy development company, already operates geothermal plants at Raft River, Idaho and San Emidio Nev., and recently completed development of a second full-scale production well at Neal Hot Springs, a major step toward the development of its third operating geothermal power plant, the company said. The company plans to pump water out of the ground at a temperature of about 300 degrees, remove what heat is needed for power generation and inject the water back into the ground. The company reported that its first production well had flowing production temperatures of 286.5 degrees F. Depths of the wells will range from 2,800 feet to 3,800 feet.

“Approval of the conditional use permit is a key project milestone,” Daniel Kunz, U.S. Geothermal president and CEO, said in a statement.

“We appreciated the continue support from Malheur County and the state of Oregon as we advance toward construction of the Neal Hot Springs geothermal plant,” Kunz said.

Renewable Energy beginning to energize Alaska November 29, 2009

Two spinning turbines dot the sky above Palmer, putting the quaint colony-era town on the forefront of a grass-roots make-your-own energy movement sweeping Alaska.

One of the wind-power turbines — like a streamlined pinwheel or a futuristic windmill — stands above a local chiropractor’s office. The other is a green addition to an elementary school playground.

The turbines are part of a move toward renewable energy in Alaska. Wind turbines dot rural Alaska. Solar arrays power a building in Nome. Tourists soak at Chena Hot Springs Resort, a getaway powered by geothermal energy. And increasingly, homeowners are using energy derived from the sun and wind to heat their homes, keep the refrigerator running and charge their iPhones.

Some involved in this movement are driven by a desire to reduce their impact on the environment. For others, the decision is financial. Using alternative energy means less reliance on diesel fuel to power generators.

State and local officials have been busy writing new rules for how all this can work, especially the backyard wind turbines.

Chiropractor Joseph Hawkins of Palmer is a pioneer. His roughly 50-foot-tall turbine makes more electricity than needed at his business, BIONIC Chiropractic, so he has a contract to sell the extra power to Matanuska Electric Association. He’s one of the first people in the Valley to ever do that.

His turbine towers over BIONIC Chiropractic at 642 S. Alaska St. It went up on Oct. 2. Hawkins said he’s been interested in renewable energy since helping his family install solar power in Utah 25 years ago.

“I’ve been involved or interested in doing anything we can do to be resourceful or protect the environment,” Hawkins said. “It portrays the healthy lifestyle I want to represent as a chiropractor.”

The turbine at his business is a residential-size model made by Skystream. It cost about $22,000 installed.

The turbine whirls frequently in Palmer, where breezes are common. Hawkins said he believes it will pay for itself in five to seven years.

Power generated is used first in the chiropractic office building he built last year. Matanuska Electric buys what’s left. In the six weeks the turbine has been energized, that’s been less than a hundred kilowatts, Hawkins said. The average home uses about 30 kilowatts each day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Hawkins and Lukas Strickland, a friend working with him on alternative energy plans, said they hope to install other types of renewables soon.

“Right now in Alaska people don’t really know what to think yet. This kind of project is really important to get people thinking about what renewable energy is,” Strickland said.

 

LEARNING POWER

The second Palmer turbine, installed Nov. 6, is a dramatic addition to the Sherrod Elementary School playground. The school’s Alaska-themed playground includes boulders marking Mount McKinley and a partial pipeline. Now, a 51-foot tall Skystream turbine stands about where Fire Island would be on the playground map.

It’s the first wind turbine installed at an Alaska school as part of the national Wind for Schools program. Principal Mark Hoffman said Sherrod is taking part in the U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored program and tapping into wind energy-related curriculum for students. Schools in 26 states, including Alaska, participate.

In most of those states, small wind turbines have been installed, and teachers use data from the turbine as part of their lesson plan for teaching about energy and weather. At Sherrod, the turbine is powering hallway lights. District officials said it’s too early to know how much of the school’s energy bill the turbine might offset.

Sean Williams, a fifth-grade teacher at Sherrod, said he’s eager to have a new way to help his students understand a difficult concept like energy.

“It’s really foreign because (energy) is not obvious,” Williams said.

He teaches students that rubbing their palms together is one kind of energy and rolling a ball on the carpet is another. But other concepts are more difficult to teach. Now, with tools like exploded diagrams showing what’s going on inside the turbine and software that can track energy being produced, Williams said he believes his students will learn more.

Charlotte Ray said her third-grade class at Sherrod will focus more on the weather — what makes the turbine spin, and will it spin more tomorrow than it did today?

Ray’s students learn about weather patterns and make predictions, then record data to show what the weather was like over time.

“The goal in education is to interest and challenge them, and to help them get excited about learning,” she said. “Also, it’s cool for the kids to see how we can use where we live — in windy Palmer — as a benefit. It’s so often a detriment.”

 

SELLING EXTRA POWER

Nobody has a wind turbine whirling in their backyard in Anchorage, but the municipality and its power company are working to change that.

Anchorage zoning rules currently don’t permit wind turbines. One of its electric companies, Municipal Light & Power, doesn’t allow small consumers to hook a backyard turbine to the electrical grid and sell power back to the utility.

Jim Posey, general manager of Municipal Light & Power, said the city-owned electrical utility will soon offer “net-metering” contracts to Anchorage residents. The utility is waiting for the Regulatory Commission of Alaska — which oversees public utilities — to finalize its new net-metering rules.

Net metering is a policy that allows people or companies that own small renewable-energy facilities to sell excess power they generate to their local electric company.

Alaska is one of six states lacking net-metering laws. But the Regulatory Commission on Oct. 14 approved net-metering regulations. A commission spokeswoman said the regulations should go to the state attorney general’s office for review this month. Eventually, they’ll go to Gov. Sean Parnell to be enacted.

 

ANCHORAGE PLANS ON HOLD

Hawkins and Sherrod Elementary already have an agreement like that with Matanuska Electric Association. MEA consumers typically buy power for 16 cents per kilowatt. The co-generation rate — what MEA pays small producers — is about 6.2 cents. MEA spokeswoman Lorali Carter said the difference represents the utility’s cost to maintain its transmission lines and other infrastructure.

Posey described a similar set-up in the works at ML&P.

But the new net-metering laws might be in place for months before Anchorage residents can legally hoist a turbine into the air on their property. Residents who ask municipal officials about putting wind generators up now are told to wait, Anchorage physical planning supervisor Tyler Robinson said.

Robinson’s office worked last year to develop land-use rules about installing wind turbines.

The Planning and Zoning Commission passed the rules last fall. But the measure stalled when it reached the Assembly. The Assembly is rewriting city zoning laws and wants to finish them first before tackling new issues, Robinson said. The wind-generation rules may be on hold until mid-2010, he said.

Robinson said he gets frequent calls from city residents interested in installing wind generation on their property. There’s definitely interest.

But Anchorage isn’t an easy place to adopt one rule for all residents. The city wants to make sure wind-turbine rules are made after a vibrant public discussion.

“Some of these smaller applications, whether on residential lots or in business districts, will really challenge the values that people have,” he said.

“I don’t think if we were to just put it out there tomorrow it would be entirely embraced with open arms and everyone would think it’s a great idea. But I think the mayor is generally supportive.”

 

TURBINES SPROUT IN THE BUSH

Wind and other alternative power systems are cropping up all over the state, largely spurred on by abundant sources of funds — federal and state grants for renewable energy and federal tax credits for installed systems — and communities eager to cut their dependence on expensive diesel fuel.

Alternative energy supplier Kirk Garoutte, owner of Susitna Energy, said he talked Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan into granting him permission to install two turbines at his 2507 Fairbanks St. property to help him demonstrate the equipment he sells.

Without net-metering in place, the turbines will only churn wind, not make electricity, but Garoutte said they’ll allow his customers to watch turbines in action.

A residential set-up, installed, costs about $15,000, he said. A Department of Energy program that delivers a 30-percent tax credit for residential renewable energy systems installed by 2016 can help lower upfront costs.

Perryville, an Alaska Peninsula community of 133 people, installed 10 of his turbines, Garoutte said. He believes the turbines will pay for themselves in about 18 months. Others whirl in Nome, Shaktoolik, Chignik, Kipnuk, Fairbanks, Healy and Willow.

Meera Kohler, president of Alaska Village Electrical Cooperative, said her power company for 53 villages has energized 21 turbines since 2003. Four more will be spinning in Chevak before the end of the year, she said.

These are commercial-grade turbines, with an installed cost of nearly $1 million each, plus $1.5 million for a system that lets the turbines be monitored from afar, Kohler said.

AVEC spends about $5 million a year on diesel. The board hopes to shave $1.2 million off that with wind-generated energy, Kohler said.

Kodiak Electric Association in August installed three 1.5 megawatt turbines, each producing enough electricity to power 330 homes.

Darron Scott, Kodiak Electric chief executive, said in an August presentation to the Alaska Power Association that he expects the turbines will save 800,000 gallons of diesel each year.

A 36-turbine wind farm planned for Fire Island is expected to generate about 10 times the electricity from Kodiak’s three-turbine wind farm. Work on Fire Island could begin next year.

“We’re starting to see a lot of momentum pick up with wind around the state,” said Chris Rose, founder of the Renewable Energy Alaska Project.

 

SOLAR, GEOTHERMAL

Jerald Brown, president of the Bering Straits Native Corp. of Nome, said the corporation has invested more than $3 million in alternative energy products recently.

Two years ago, Bering Straits installed 93 solar panels on its Nome office building. The corporation also installed solar hot water heaters in two apartment buildings it owns, and partnered with Sitnasuak Native Corp. on Banner Wind LLC, a wind farm with 18 turbines that sells power to Nome Joint Utility.

Brown said the corporation is opening an energy-efficiency store in the corporate office building to sell LED light bulbs, energy-efficient garbage composters and timers to plug vehicles into.

Outside Fairbanks, a century-old resort where tourists flock to watch amazing northern lights displays while soaking in natural hot springs is on the forefront of alternative energy of a different kind.

In 2006, Chena Hot Springs owner Bernie Karl started generating power from geothermal hot water under the resort. This year he unveiled another mobile plant that uses heated waste water, from oil and gas development and other sources.

Out in Southwest Alaska, Naknek Electric Association is using millions in federal money to drill into potential geothermal sources. Its November newsletter describes results so far as “hopeful.”

There’s a lot happening Alaska backyards, too. This summer, 30 homeowners around the state participated in a “solar tour” aimed at taking the mystery out of green building techniques and home renewable energy systems.

In the Valley, some homes on the tour relied on renewable energy by necessity: A house made of straw bales that is beyond the reach of electricity and off-grid cabins near the Talkeetna Mountains that rely mostly on solar power, for example. Others incorporated efficient designs and renewable features for other reasons.

A modern two-story colonial home with a garage and full basement on the tour is heated by sun-warmed water. Homeowners Dave and Karen Jones said they wanted a low-maintenance home with low energy costs that they can enjoy in their retirement.

“We’re not making any concessions,” said Dave Jones. “We’re not tree huggers. We’re normal people. We’re just looking for a more efficient way to do it.”

Phillip St. John, president of the nonprofit Alaska Center for Appropriate Technology, said events like the solar tour show people renewable energy is something anyone can do.

“There’s really people out there doing it. Their neighbors are doing it,” he said. “If you think renewable energy is something for the future, then you’re living in the past.”

Rindi White, Associated Press – http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/973093.html

“Green jobs” likely in Idaho, perhaps driven by more hydro power, state agency says November 20, 2009

Renewable energy is one place the state could make job gains, said the Idaho Department of Commerce.

In 2008, the U.S. Energy Information Agency ranked Idaho seventh nationally in its renewable energy generating capacity, and an Idaho Department of Labor analysis found energy sector employers paying $2.6 billion to over 49,000 workers, 12 percent of total wages and 7.5 percent of total jobs.

A $1.25 million federal grant awarded earlier this week to the Department of Labor will be used to develop detailed information on the current and future potential of jobs in the state’s power and energy industry, and in particular jobs in the area of efficient and renewable energy, also known as “green jobs.”

The Energy Information Agency profile of Idaho identifies its vast hydropower resources — the sixth largest in the nation — as the source of nearly all the state’s renewable energy capacity. Wind and wood or wood waste accounted for less than 7 percent combined.

But researchers at the Idaho National Laboratory have identified 6,700 additional hydropower sites that could potentially produce another 2,100 megawatts of electricity. That would boost Idaho’s hydro capacity by another 22 percent.

Wind remains the most likely alternative resource for development. In 2004, the federal energy agency found no notable wind generation in Idaho. Idaho has 146 megawatts of wind power operating in Idaho according to the Idaho Strategic Energy Alliance Wind Task Force report.

Of that total, 64.5 megawatts, is being generated by the Wolverine Farm in southeastern Idaho”s Bingham County. Recent wind mapping indicates Idaho has about 18,000 megawatts of generation potential, the 13th highest in the United States. The southeastern part of the state has been identified as having several locations with nearby transmission lines that could support viable wind farms. Most developers require a wind classification of three or higher, and of the 75 sites in Idaho at that rating a third are in the southeast.

The natural hot springs in southeastern Idaho account for the Northwest’s first geothermal electric plant near Raft River. Operated by U.S. Geothermal Inc., it produces about 13 megawatts of electricity with a maximum capacity estimated at 110 megawatts.

Generating costs are relatively high, but technological improvements offer prospects of developing one or more of the other 24 geothermal sites in Idaho identified for the Governor‚s Geothermal Task Force in 2007.

Recently the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation announced plans for a 100-megawatt geothermal plant near Preston.

Biomass — wood products, cellulosic feedstock and byproducts from grain crops — is being evaluated throughout the state to include gases containing carbon from decomposing landfill material. But timber and grain are the focus.

Rocky Barker, Idaho Statesman – http://www.idahostatesman.com/business/story/981073.html

Update on possible Newberry Crater Geothermal plant November 12, 2009

With a $25 million influx of federal stimulus money, two companies are planning to try a different way of generating geothermal power just west of Newberry National Volcanic Monument.

But to test this method, Newberry Geothermal and AltaRock will need to add something more to the equation — an estimated 77 million gallons of water or more.

“The water question is clearly one that we all know is there, and that we will have to address,” said Doug Perry, the president of Newberry Geothermal.

In a traditional geothermal system, a company drills a deep well and taps into a pent up supply of water or steam, heated by the surrounding rocks. But when Newberry Geothermal drilled test wells in 2008, they found hot rocks but no water or steam.

So the idea with the new method, called enhanced geothermal systems, is to pump outside water down into a system of hairline fractures, have the rocks heat up the water, then pump it back to the surface. The hot water or steam will be harnessed to turn turbines, then cooled a bit and sent back down to be heated up again.

But the rocks could be leaky, said Asante Riverwind, with the local chapter of the Sierra Club, and people don’t yet know how much water one of these plants would consume to generate power.

“Where would they get this water, given the water concerns already existent here?” Riverwind said.

Newberry Geothermal already has a temporary OK to use up to 100 gallons of water a minute, which it can get from any of four groundwater wells.

The company had to make up for the water it removed from the groundwater aquifer by buying mitigation credits, which pay for other projects that put water back into streams and rivers of the Deschutes Basin.

“Some farmer, someplace in Deschutes County or the Deschutes basin, is not irrigating, and in return the groundwater mitigation buyer is using that water instead,” said Scott McCaulou, program director with the Deschutes River Conservancy.

The Newberry project doesn’t need to mitigate for that much water, compared with irrigators and other water users, he said — it’s about the equivalent of watering 2 or 3 acres of alfalfa.

If the company needed to use more water, it could either apply for a new temporary license to do so, which would require more mitigation credits, McCaulou said, or buy up new water rights.

And the geothermal project will probably need to use more water, Perry said.

Water is needed for several steps in the enhanced geothermal system. Crews use water to drill a well, and then pump pressurized water down into that well to fracture a network of tiny cracks in the rocks thousands of feet below the surface.

“It takes a lot of water for a short period of time” to create that network of cracks, Perry said.

The company will also use water to drill another well or two that will eventually bring hot water back to the surface. And it will use more water to test how well the whole system works — how easily the water flows from the original well, through the network of cracks, and back up to the surface.

Because this is a relatively new way of doing things, especially in the United States, geologists don’t know exactly how much water this will take, Perry said.

But based on a similar project in France, Perry estimated that drilling the wells, creating the cracks and testing the system would take between 77 million and 121 million gallons of water — more than the 53 million gallons they currently have the OK for.

In comparison, on the peak summer day in 2007, the city of Bend used 27 million gallons of water, according to a city publication.

Creating the cracks would also take an OK from water officials to use more than 100 gallons a minute, he said.

Perry added that most of the water used in these tests remains in the different rock layers. Some of the fluid, however, is lost to evaporation — and that has to be mitigated for.

After the testing phase for enhanced geothermal systems, if the company decides to build a power plant, additional water would be needed to keep flow circulating through the system.

Project planners don’t yet have an estimate for that volume, Perry said, noting that a lot depends on how leaky the rocks are and how much water needs to be replaced.

There could be alternatives to groundwater as well, he said. Project designers could end up piping in gray water, or treated wastewater, and cycling that through the underground reservoir. Or, some new technology uses liquefied carbon dioxide instead of water, he said.

But it will be several years before Newberry gets to the power plant stage, he said, and the company hopes by that time the enhanced geothermal tests will reveal more about how much water would be necessary.

“We’ll know enough so it will be a lot more factual based, (rather) than by analogy,” Perry said.

Kate Ramsayer, Bend Bulletin - http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091112/NEWS0107/911120393/1001/NEWS01&nav_category=NEWS01

Geologists plan S. Idaho geothermal test drilling November 9, 2009

Geologists plan to drill a pair of mile-deep holes in southern Idaho in a hunt for geothermal fields that could be tapped to produce energy.

The $4.6 million project being led by Utah State University is spread over two years and is being paid for with federal stimulus money.

John Shervais, a professor and head of Utah State’s Department of Geology, said the work will provide valuable student opportunities, boost the economy and help advance geothermal technologies.

“We know it’s going to be hot, but nobody’s ever drilled that deep in these areas,” Shervais told The Times-News.

Also taking part in the project are Boise State University, the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Alberta, and the International Continental Drilling Program based in Potsdam, Germany.

The holes will be drilled through volcanic plains in Lincoln County starting in the spring or early summer. The drilling should also give researchers a better understanding of the Snake River Plain geology.

One hole is planned over a thick portion of the plain, while a second is on the edge. Researchers are hoping to find out whether the two locations have similar levels of heat and ability to produce power.

The drilling sites are on public land.

Shervais said the results of the drilling could help private companies decide whether they want to develop geothermal energy in the region.

“There’s plenty of public and private land near both sites that could be available for putting in a power plant, should we prove the resource is sufficient,” Shervais said.

Also getting federal stimulus money for geothermal projects is the Blaine County School District. It will receive $4 million to retrofit schools in Hailey, Carey and Bellevue in central Idaho with geothermal systems.

Boise State University is receiving $1.55 million to digitize and upload geologic data into a national system.

Associated Press – http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/1028671.html

Oregon geothermal projects get $40M in stimulus money October 31, 2009

Continuing efforts to advance alternative energy resources and break our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) announced nearly $40 million in Recovery Act funding for the exploration and development of geothermal energy technologies in Oregon.

“This funding will literally help to bring Oregon’s geothermal energy potential to the surface,” Wyden said. “It will create and sustain jobs improving alternative energy technology to better tap into Oregon’s unique set of renewable energy resources.”

“The Recovery Act continues to spur growth in the emerging clean energy industry,” Merkley said.  ”These projects will create new jobs and solidify Oregon’s position as a leader in renewable energy production.”

Distributed by the U.S. Department of Energy, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding will support and create seven Oregon-based geothermal projects.

The funding dramatically increases geothermal energy development both in Oregon and nationwide and is a large step toward comprehensive utilization of alternative energy resources throughout the state.

The following seven Oregon projects are receiving funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:

Nevada Geothermal Power Company- Crump Geyser- $1,764,272
This project will test a new, low environmentally impacting drilling technique and create a method to model the movement of fluid in the reservoir.

Newberry Geothermal Holdings- Newberry- $4,475,075
This project will use advanced techniques to locate geothermal reservoirs.

ORMAT, Nevada, Inc. – Glass Buttes- $4,377,000
This project will locate faults in geothermal reservoirs using advanced techniques.

The City of Klamath Falls- Klamath Falls- $816,000
This project will fund the construction of a low-temperature power plant with a district heating system to power the city of Klamath Falls.

Johnson Controls, Inc.- Oregon Institute of Technology (Klamath Falls)- $1,047,714
This project will install a low-temperature unit on the Oregon Institute of Technology campus.

AltaRock Energy, Inc. – Newberry Volcanic Monument (Bend)- $24,999,430
This project will generate power from the Newberry Geothermal Resource Area by demonstrating EGS (engineered geothermal systems) technology.

According to a San Francisco Chronicle article on a Bay Area project, AltaRock is developing a new form of geothermal power, drilling deeper into deep rocks, hotter than 500 degrees Fahrenheit. The Bay Area company will fracture those rocks with high-pressure water, creating a network of cracks. AltaRock then will pump more water into the cracks, using the rocks to heat the water and create steam.

Surprise Valley Electrification Corporation- Paisley- $2,000,000
This project will build a binary power plant that uses low-temperature fluids. It will also help to construct a local aquaculture facility.

Associated Press – http://www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=11410230

U.S. Geothermal Begins Exploration at Neal Hot Springs October 5, 2009

Boise-based U.S. Geothermal said this week it has begun development drilling at the Neal Hot Springs Geothermal Project in eastern Oregon at a 10-square-mile site about 90 miles northwest of Boise. The company hopes the project will produce about 26MW of power once developed. U.S. Geothermal is already selling more than 10MW of geothermal power from its Raft River site near Malta to Idaho Power, and plans to sell a similar amount from Raft River to Eugene Water and Electric Board in Oregon. Raft River is the first commercial-scale geothermal generation project in the Northwest.

At Neal Hot Springs, U.S. Geothermal said the first well is currently drilled to about 300 feet on the way to a total depth of about 2,800 feet. A total of three large-diameter wells are planned in the current project, the company said.

“Further definition of the Neal Hot Springs geothermal resource is a significant part of our company’s growth plan,” U.S. Geothermal President and CEO Daniel Kunz said in a news release. “These drilling programs are expected to maintain our current project development schedule and help define a geothermal reservoir needed to construct a power plant that will deliver 22 megawatts of electricity.” In Idaho, a megawatt is roughly enough power to supply about 700-800 homes or more, depending on the season.

By Ken Miller, Snake River Alliance, (Sun Valley Online) – http://www.sunvalleyonline.com/news/article.asp?ID_Article=7506

More on Geothermal possibilty at Newberry Volcano October 5, 2009

Last year, Davenport Power drilled two exploratory wells 10,000 feet below the flanks of Newberry Volcano searching for hot rocks and water but found nothing but heat.

Now the company, which hopes to tap into geothermal power in the Deschutes National Forest south of Bend, is making plans to use a suite of other less-intensive methods to further map the underground rocks and temperatures in the area to find other potential drill sites.

When crews bored two wells just to the west of Paulina Lake, outside of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument last year, instruments measured plenty of heat but not enough water or steam to turn turbines and generate power, said Doug Perry, president of Davenport Power.

The company hopes eventually to drill production wells that could fuel a power plant capable of providing electricity to about 100,000 homes.

But first, scientists will try to get a broader picture of the area’s geology, building on geologic mapping that other companies had done in previous years.

“One of the things we want to do is engage in some more exploration activity,” Perry said. “The idea is to still try to get the best picture we can of what it looks like down deep. Hopefully, from that we would end up targeting where we would drill some more exploratory wells.”

One way to get a better picture is with narrow temperature gradient wells that reach about 3,500 feet below the surface — an easier and cheaper procedure than the exploratory wells drilled in 2008. These temperature gradient holes can be drilled from the back of a truck, like a water well, Perry said, as opposed to the 180-foot-tall derricks needed to drill the exploratory wells.

Davenport plans to create a string of up to 12 temperature wells west of the monument to gauge the extent of the area’s hot rocks.

“We think that the area of heat may be larger than just the area where we were drilling those (exploratory) wells,” Perry said. “But we can do exploration and drill these temperature gradient wells a lot less expensively.”

There’s still no guarantee that a site will have water or steam, he said. The company would have to bring back the big drilling rigs later to test for that.

But the company also plans to try out a relatively new technology. Davenport plans to drop listening devices into the temperature gradient holes, Perry said, to see if they can pick up any background sounds that might be a hint of water moving through the ground.

“This is to try to hear if there’s any liquid moving,” Perry said.

Davenport also plans to conduct ground-level surveys, he said, continuing work geophysicists started in 2006. A gravity study could help tell scientists about the different rock layers, while a survey of changes in the magnetic field could help provide clues about the location of hot water.

“We’ve tried to come up with a program to hopefully give us additional and better information about what’s down there,” Perry said.

While Davenport is still hoping to find steam to fuel a power plant, he said the company is also considering using a technology called enhanced geothermal systems, or engineered geothermal systems.

In those systems, crews drill a well and create small fractures in the deep rock, then circulate fluid through the hot rocks. That way, they don’t need to find naturally occurring steam.

The technology created some controversy after a project set off a small earthquake in Europe.

Perry said the geology is different in Central Oregon, and if Davenport receives funding to try the enhanced geothermal technology, the company will do further analysis, reviewed by outside experts, to determine the local risk. The company would also have to get additional OKs from federal land management agencies.

For now, though, Davenport is focusing on the temperature wells and geophysical surveys.

The company still has to get permission from the Bureau of Land Management for the temperature wells. The agency is getting ready to start an environmental assessment of the potential impacts of the series of drill sites, said Linda Christian, environmental coordinator with the BLM’s Prineville District.

Davenport is proposing to do the work without building new roads or cutting down trees, she said, but will instead drill along existing forest roads and in previously clear-cut areas.

“The total area that’s going to be disturbed in this whole environmental assessment (area) is 2.5 acres, in 100-by-100-foot lots,” Christian said.

The work could damage some habitat, but once the company gathers data it will restore the area, she said.

And the information will help provide a better picture of the geology in the area, she said.

“We’re trying to get the science and figure out if this is a viable alternative energy source,” Christian said. “Maybe it won’t be, but they need to look at all avenues.”

Davenport Power’s attempts to find steam to fuel a power plant have yet to succeed. Now the company will use much smaller drills in hopes

of finding the right site.

Kate Ramsayer, Bend Bulletin - http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090928/NEWS0107/909280363/1006/NEWS01&nav_category=NEWS01

Geothermal possible at Newberry Crater in Ore. August 31, 2009

Update on the quest for geothermal power at Newberry volcano. Information provided by Davenport Power LLC, operator of the project.

Review of 2008 Exploration

After drilling two deep exploratory wells (10,060 and 11,600 feet respectively), the Newberry Geothermal Project, operated by Davenport Power LLC, found very high levels of heat in both wells, but little commercially viable resource – neither hot water nor steam. During the past months, Project geologists and scientists evaluated data from these wells along with previously gathered information. This time-consuming process is normal in development of geothermal resource projects. The three pads and two wells the Newberry Project constructed last year remain in place and will continue to be maintained and utilized in exploration activities.

Surface Geophysical Surveys

The Newberry Project team has begun implementation of the next exploration phase on Newberry Geothermal Project’s BLM-leases (Bureau of Land Management). Planned surface geophysical work will collect data to assist in understanding the nature and geology of Newberry Volcano. This geophysical work consists of a series of gravity surveys and magnetotelluric surveys.

This surface work will be non-invasive and low-impact in nature. It will occur on geothermal lease holdings on the western flanks of Newberry Volcano. The planned geophysical data gathering is similar to that which was approved by the BLM and Forest Service (FS) in 2006. This work is anticipated to start in 2010.

Temperature Gradient Holes

The Newberry Geothermal Project also is proposing a series of small, slim diameter temperature gradient holes. These would be drilled up to 3,500 feet deep, at up to twelve locations outside the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, along the Volcano’s western flanks. In addition to gathering temperature data, the purpose is to conduct passive-seismic monitoring of subsurface conditions.

None of these temperature gradient holes are expected to be used to locate geothermal water or steam. Furthermore, it would not be possible to do so with the size and depth of the holes to be drilled. These holes are another method of exploration to further scientists and geologists understanding of the subsurface geology in this part of Newberry Volcano.

The twelve proposed low profile drilling sites are in a north-south axis along the western flanks of Newberry Volcano. One site utilizes our existing Newberry Geothermal Project well pad. These passive-seismic sites would be approximately 100 feet x 100 feet in size along existing FS roads, and/or at previously logged areas. Drilling would be done with a truck-mounted drilling rig producing a slim core hole and minimal residue.

The proposed temperature gradient drilling activity, must be approved by the BLM (Prineville Office) through an Environmental Assessment (EA), pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The assessment of these activities will be conducted by the BLM and the Forest Service (Bend-Ft. Rock Ranger District). The EA completion is expected by early 2010. The goal of the Newberry Geothermal Project is to initiate field exploration activities in the Spring, 2010.

The Newberry Geothermal Project and Davenport are excited about this next stage of the rigorous and lengthy ‘Newberry Geothermal Exploration Phase’ on our leases at Newberry Volcano. “Achieving our goal of utilizing Newberry’s tremendous geothermal energy potential to produce renewable, clean electricity remains the focus of our efforts,” stated Doug Perry, President of Newberry Geothermal Project.

KODH (TV, Bend, OR) – http://kohd.com/page/139625

State Groups Cheered By Stimulus Money For Geothermal May 28, 2009

President Obama set aside $467 million in stimulus money Wednesday for solar and geothermal energy projects.

Oregon renewable energy advocates cheered the news.

Scientists say it could help the state’s fledgling green energy research facilities.

And investors say it could encourage the construction and development of major solar and geothermal projects.

Doug Perry is the president of Davenport Power. His group wants to build a geothermal power plant south of Bend.

Doug Perry: “There’s provisions in there for geothermal, for instrumentation, and then there’s several categories for solar projects. It’s a broader renewable package, all designed to create new opportunities for a lot more renewable energy going forward – a goal we all share.”

Perry’s company already drilled two geothermal wells – but both came up empty.

Perry says investment in future technologies, such as $80 million set aside for so-called Enhanced Geothermal Systems, could help make those wells more economically viable.

BY ETHAN LINDSEY, OPB NEWS – http://news.opb.org/article/5081-state-groups-cheered-stimulus-money-geothermal/

Idaho energy offers many prospects (Part II) May 9, 2009

Editor’s note: This is the second part of a two-part look at energy consumption in Idaho and renewable opportunities across the state.

University of Idaho researcher Robert Zemetra is looking to the fields of Idaho to turn a waste product into a fuel source. Common sources of ethanol such as corn kernels and switchgrass take farmland away from the production of the world’s food supply. “Here you run into the food verses fuel debate,” he said.

Zemetra has a better idea for the future of ethanol. He proposes using the leftover straw from wheat production to distill ethanol, which still allows the grains to be used for food.

A refinery capable of wheat-straw ethanol production was slated to be built in Shelley, Idaho, but may be constructed in Canada instead.

The problem with using wheat straw for ethanol production, Zemetra said, is it requires breaking down the lignin-cellulosic structure of the wheat stalk to get to the sugars inside. This drawback can lead to a lower yield.

“Lignin has a direct effect on digestion,” he said. “Our idea is to modify the lignin to increase access (to sugars), thus increasing production.”

Zemetra hopes to create a low-lignin wheat stalk without affecting the quality of the grain. To accomplish this, he proposes using plant breeding or molecular re-structuring.

“It’s not necessarily genetic engineering,” he said, but acknowledged that it may be perceived as such.

He said this process is nothing new, but often receives a negative reaction from food consumers.

“We’ve had transgenic plants for probably five years now,” he said. “We’ve already told our wheat commission that until the public accepts transgenic wheat, we’re not going to put it into commercial production.”

Although Zemetra is already growing prototype plants in a greenhouse, he doesn’t anticipate full-scale production for at least another decade.

One of the challenges faced with lignin reduction is producing a wheat stalk that is structurally strong enough to support itself, he said.

Still, if he can successfully create a low-lignin wheat plant, he believes it will produce a cheap and widely available dual-use fuel source for the state of Idaho.

From the depths

Geothermal energy is the use of hot water or steam from below the surface of the earth for heat or electricity. It has been used in Idaho since the 1800s for everything from spas to greenhouses to the farming of warm-water fish and alligators. The Idaho State Capitol building complex is heated by geothermal energy.

Another more expensive use for geothermal energy is the conversion of hot water or steam to electricity. The U.S. Geothermal Raft River Facility located in southeast Idaho is the first geothermal electricity plant in the Northwest, according to the State of Idaho Office of Energy resources. It began generating in Jan. 2008, and can generate up to 110 megawatts of power.

“Idaho has substantial geothermal resources,” said Steven Peterson, a professor of business and economics at UI. “It has potential for much wider use.”

Peterson co-authored a study about the economic impacts of a possible geothermal electricity plant that could be constructed at Willow Springs Idaho. The study found the plant could create 240 jobs in Idaho and generate an estimated $10.2 million in earnings.

The problem with geothermal electricity, Peterson said, is it requires a substantial amount of money to get started.

“The fuel is nearly free,” he said. “But the marginal cost of capital is high.”

If constructed, the Willow Springs facility could cost $150 million for the facility itself. Labor for construction, studies and the drilling of test wells could cost another $260 million. But once completed, it could produce $37 million annually in net revenue, the study stated.

Peterson said the costs of start-up for alternative energies are often overlooked and unmentioned by politicians who talk about creating “green jobs” to stimulate the economy.

“Everything in economics has an opportunity cost,” he said. “In the long run, that could very well be true, but in the short run, people are going to lose jobs, and it is going to cost money until the fruition of those jobs in the future.”

To accelerate the development of alternative energy in Idaho, Peterson recommends policy makers provide incentives for using renewable sources and limiting the use of carbon-based energies.

“We need to move away to alternatives to oil because we are going to run out,” he said. “That’s not going to change.”

Reid Wright, Argonaut - http://www.uiargonaut.com/content/view/8098/48:testset/

Boise State getting geothermal heat system from Fed funds March 16, 2009

Boise will use $2 million from the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill to extend its geothermal heat system across the Boise River to Boise State, creating jobs, saving money and making the campus more energy efficient.

The money will fund the first phase of the project, which will extend the system to five campus buildings and is expected to create or preserve more than 20 jobs.

It also will save the university more than $80,000 a year in heating costs.

“Geothermal heating encourages Boise State’s already strong commitment to environmental stewardship, sustainability and economic judiciousness,” BSU President Bob Kustra said in a news release. “Another benefit is the hands-on research opportunities it affords for our students and faculty as we explore clean energy development.”

Additional buildings will be added to the system in the future. Two buildings already planned for construction will have geothermal capabilities.

The city hopes to use stimulus money to fund the second phase of the project, which will complete the loop from Boise State back to the city system.

Chad Dryden, Idaho Statesman – http://www.idahostatesman.com/boise/story/699933.html

Regulators rethinking Idaho Power’s green tag strategy March 16, 2009

State utility regulators say they will reconsider an order allowing Idaho Power Co., to hold on to its renewable energy credits.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission announced the decision Monday after some of the utility’s biggest industrial customers filed objections. Those customers say Idaho Power should sell the so-called green tags and use the proceeds to benefit customers.

The commission ruled in January that Idaho Power could hold on to the credits, valued late last year at $1.9 million.

Idaho Power is awarded the credits annually for the renewable power generated at its geothermal power plant in southern Idaho and its wind farm in eastern Oregon.

The utility sought to hold on to the credits to help offset future state or federal mandates requiring utilities to expand renewable energy portfolios.

The Associated Press – http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/789331.html

Geothermal and Dam Removal part of new stimulus for Ore. March 12, 2009

President Barack Obama has signed a $410 billion spending package that will keep the federal government operating through September.

The bill includes thousands of earmarks, which are spending items inserted by individual lawmakers. President Obama has criticized the earmarks, but he said he signed the bill to keep federal agencies from closing down.

Those “earmarks” include $250 million for Oregon projects.

Among them are:

$1.5 million for the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls for a geothermal power plant on campus.

$3 million to assist with the removal of the Savage Rapids Dam on the Rogue River.

KTVL.com – http://www.ktvl.com/articles/earmarks_1189363___article.html/oregon_bill.html

Ore. hot springs eyed for its geothermal potential March 8, 2009

An Idaho company is exploring an Oregon hot springs as a possible source of geothermal energy for power generation.

U.S. Geothermal of Boise is weighing the potential of Neal Springs upstream from Bully Creek Reservoir in Eastern Oregon, according to a published report. The company proposes to pump 300-degree water out of the ground to run turbines that generate electricity before injecting cooler water back into the ground to be reheated.

The proposed geothermal plant would provide 10 to 12 jobs.The project could funnel much-needed cash into Malheur County while providing a renewable source of energy.

–The Associated Press – http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/oregon_hot_springs_eyed_for_it.html

Clean Energy Aspects of now signed recovery act February 18, 2009

President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on Tuesday and the measure includes US $16.8 billion for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The funding is a nearly tenfold increase for EERE, which received $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2008.

The act also directs DOE to analyze the nation’s electrical grid to determine if significant potential sources of renewable energy are locked out of the electrical market by a lack of adequate transmission capacity. DOE must then provide recommendations for achieving adequate transmission capacity.

While the bulk of the new EERE funding is supporting direct grants and rebates, $2.5 billion will support EERE’s applied research, development and deployment activities, including $800 million for the Biomass Program, $400 million for the Geothermal Technologies Program, and $50 million for efforts to increase the energy efficiency of information and communications technologies.

An additional $400 million will support efforts to add electric technologies to vehicles. And separate from the EERE budget, $400 million will support the establishment of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), an agency to support innovative energy research, modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

The economic stimulus act also stipulates that $5 billion will go towards the Weatherization Assistance Program, and the act also increases the eligible income level under the program, increases the funding assistance level to $6,500 per home, and allows new weatherization assistance for homes that were weatherized as recently as 1994.

A complementary measure in the act provides $4 billion to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to rehabilitate and retrofit public housing, including increasing the energy efficiency of units, plus an additional $510 million to do the same for homes maintained by Native American housing programs. HUD will receive an additional $250 million to increase the energy efficiency of HUD-sponsored, low-income housing.

The act also directs $2 billion in EERE funds toward grants for the manufacturing of advanced battery systems and components within the United States, as well as the development of supporting software. The battery grants will support advanced lithium-ion batteries and hybrid electric systems. Another $300 million will support an Alternative Fueled Vehicles Pilot Grant Program, and an additional $300 million will support rebates for energy efficient appliances, while also supporting DOE’s efforts under the Energy Star Program.

The act also stipulates that $3.2 billion will go toward Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants, which were established in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, but were not previously funded. The grants will go toward states, local governments and tribal governments to support the development of energy efficiency and conservation strategies and programs, including energy audit programs and projects to install fuel cells and solar, wind, and biomass power projects at government buildings. For background on the program, see pages 176-183 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

The act also stipulates that $3.1 billion of EERE funds will go toward the State Energy Program for additional grants that don’t need to be matched with state funds, but the act only allows such grants for states that intend to adopt strict building energy codes and intend to provide utility incentives for energy efficiency measures. To help states implement the measures, a separate portion of the act allocates $500 million to the Department of Labor to prepare workers for careers in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Renewable Energy and Smart Grids

The act includes $6 billion to support loan guarantees for renewable energy and electric transmission technologies. The funds are expected to guarantee more than $60 billion in loans. The act requires the DOE Loan Guarantee Program to only make loan guarantees to projects that will start construction by September 30, 2011, and that involve renewable energy, electric transmission, or leading-edge biofuel technologies.

The act also directs DOE to analyze the nation’s electrical grid to determine if significant potential sources of renewable energy are locked out of the electrical market by a lack of adequate transmission capacity. DOE must then provide recommendations for achieving adequate transmission capacity. To help achieve those recommendations, the act includes a provision allowing the Western Area Power Administration to borrow up to $3.25 billion from the U.S. Treasury for transmission system upgrades, particularly for facilitating the delivery of power from renewable energy facilities.

In addition, the act provides $4.5 billion for the DOE Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability for activities to modernize the nation’s electrical grid, integrate demand-response equipment and analyze, develop and implement smart grid technologies. The funds will also support research in energy storage technologies, efforts to facilitate recovery from energy supply disruptions and efforts to enhance the security and reliability of the nation’s energy infrastructure. A complementary section of the act opens smart grid demonstration projects to electric systems in all areas of the country and establishes a smart grid information clearinghouse to share data from the demonstration projects.

Greener Federal Buildings and Fleets

Federal buildings and fleets will become greener under a measure of the new bill. The act provides $4.5 billion to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to convert federal buildings into high-performance green buildings, which generally combine energy efficiency and renewable energy production to minimize the energy use of the buildings. The act also directs $4 million toward the establishment of an Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings within the GSA. In addition, the act provides $100 million for the Energy Conservation Investment Program within the Department of Defense, as well as another $100 million for energy conservation and alternative energy projects at facilities of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.

For federal vehicle fleets, the act provides $300 million to cover the costs of acquiring greener motor vehicles, including hybrids, electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrid vehicles, once they become commercially available. Buying plug-in hybrids could be an iffy proposition, however, as the funds must be spent by September 30, 2011.

Renewable Energy Tax Credits

The tax section of the act provides a three-year extension of the production tax credit (PTC) for most renewable energy facilities, while offering expansions on and alternatives for tax credits on renewable energy systems. The extension keeps the wind energy PTC in effect through 2012, while keeping the PTC alive for municipal solid waste, qualified hydropower, and biomass and geothermal energy facilities through 2013.

In addition, a two-year extension of the PTC for marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy systems will keep that tax credit in effect through 2013. The PTC provides a credit for every kilowatt-hour produced at new qualified facilities during the first 10 years of operation, provided the facilities are placed in service before the tax credit’s expiration date.

For 2008, biomass facilities fueled with dedicated energy crops (“closed-loop biomass”), as well as wind, solar, and geothermal energy facilities earned 2.1 cents per kilowatt-hour, while other qualified facilities earned 1 cent per kilowatt-hour.

Unfortunately, the current slump in business activity means that fewer businesses are seeking tax credits, which means that renewable energy producers are having trouble taking advantage of the PTC. With that in mind, the act also allows owners of non-solar renewable energy facilities to make an irrevocable election to earn a 30% investment credit rather than the PTC. The option remains in effect for the current period of the PTC, that is, through 2012 for wind energy facilities and through 2013 for other qualified renewable energy facilities.

Alternately, the facility owner could choose to receive a grant equal to 30% of the tax basis (that is, the reportable business investment) for the facility, so long as the facility is depreciable or amortizable. The grants are also available for renewable energy facilities that would normally earn a business energy credit of 10%-30%, including systems using fuel cells, solar energy, small wind turbines, geothermal energy, microturbines and combined heat and power (CHP) technologies.

To earn a grant, the facility must be placed in service in 2009 or 2010, or construction must begin in either of those years and must be completed prior to the termination of the PTC. For facilities that would normally earn a business tax credit, construction must be completed prior to 2017. The grants will be paid directly from the U.S. Treasury. A separate measure in the act removes limitations on the business credit based on how the systems are financed and also removes a business credit limit on small wind energy systems.

The stimulus bill also provides greater tax credits for clean energy projects at homes and businesses and for the manufacturers of clean energy technologies. For homeowners, the act increases a 10% tax credit for energy efficiency improvements to a 30% tax credit, eliminates caps for specific improvements (such as windows and furnaces), and instead establishes an aggregate cap of $1,500 for all improvements placed in service in 2009 and 2010 (except biomass systems, which must be placed in service after the act is enacted).

The act also tightens the energy efficiency requirements to meet current standards. For residential renewable energy systems, the act removes all caps on the tax credits, which equal 30% of the cost of qualified solar energy systems, geothermal heat pumps, small wind turbines and fuel cell systems. The act also eliminates a reduction in credits for installations with subsidized financing.

For businesses and individuals buying electric vehicles, the act simplifies and expands the available tax credits. For electric low-speed vehicles, motorcycles, and three-wheeled vehicles, a 10% tax credit is available through 2011, with a cap of $2,500. For vehicles converted into qualified plug-in electric vehicles, a 10% tax credit is also available through 2011, with a cap of $4,000. And starting in 2010, full-scale commercial plug-in electric vehicles can earn a maximum tax credit of $7,500, depending on their battery capacity. The credit will phase out over a year for each manufacturer after they sell 200,000 plug-in vehicles.

The act also provides a bonus to homeowners or business owners installing clean fuel refueling systems at their homes or businesses. For businesses, the maximum credit for installing such refueling systems increases to $50,000 for most systems, up from $30,000, and it increases to $200,000 for hydrogen refueling stations. For homeowners, the credit is doubled from $1,000 to $2,000. Homeowners might install their own natural gas refueling system for a natural gas vehicle, or they might install recharging systems for plug-in electric vehicles. The credit is available through 2010 for most refueling systems and through 2014 for hydrogen refueling systems.

The economic stimulus act has also added a new tax credit to encourage investment in the manufacturing facilities that help make such clean energy projects possible. A new 30% investment tax credit is available for projects that establish, re-equip or expand manufacturing facilities for fuel cells, microturbines, renewable fuel refineries and blending facilities, energy saving technologies, smart grid technologies and solar, wind and geothermal technologies.

The credit also applies to the manufacture of plug-in electric vehicles and their electric components, such as battery packs, electric motors, generators and power control units. The credit may also be expanded in the future to include other energy technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Secretary of Treasury must establish a certification program within the next 180 days and may allocate up to $2.3 billion in tax credits.

Clean Energy Bonds Expanded

Two bonding mechanisms for financing renewable energy and energy efficiency systems have been expanded under the tax section of the act. The act authorizes the allocation of as much as $1.6 billion in new Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs), which are tax credit bonds for financing renewable energy projects. CREBs were previously limited to a maximum of $800 million. The act also authorizes the allocation of $2.4 billion in qualified energy conservation bonds, up from the current limit of $800 million. These tax credit bonds are allocated to states and large local governments to finance a variety of clean energy projects.

Unlike normal bonds that pay interest, tax credit bonds pay the bondholders by providing a credit against their federal income tax. In effect, the new tax credit bonds will provide interest-free financing for clean energy projects. But because the federal government essentially pays the interest via tax credits, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service must allocate such credits in advance. However, tax credit bonds require the investment of a bondholder that will benefit from the federal tax credits, and those investors may be hard to find during the current business downturn. To try to draw more investment, a separate measure in the tax bill will allow regulated investment companies to pass through to their shareholders the tax credits earned by such bonds. Yet another measure adds a prevailing wage requirement to projects financed with CREBs or energy conservation bonds.

RenewableEnergyNews.com – http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/02/clean-energy-aspects-of-the-american-recovery-and-reinvestment-act

Neal Hot Springs in Oregon to be developed for Geothermal Energy February 12, 2009

U.S. Geothermal Inc., a renewable energy company focused on the production of electricity from geothermal energy, announced today that an interconnection agreement for the Neal Hot Springs project <in Eastern Oregon> has been signed with the Idaho Power Company.

The agreement encompasses the design and construction of a key transmission line and substation from the Neal Hot Springs project site to IPC’s nearby transmission grid. The new 10.3 mile line is being designed for 36 megawatts of transmission capacity. A recent study completed by IPC estimated the construction cost of the new connection to be $3.2 million.

IPC is responsible for the design, engineering, right-of-way acquisition and construction of the new line and its associated facilities. This line is part of the development plan for the Neal Hot Springs project that is currently expected to deliver electrical power beginning in early 2011. U.S. Geothermal is completing a feasibility study and preparing project loan and technical documents required to obtain funding for development and construction of the project. The power is expected to be sold under a long term agreement that is currently under negotiations.

“This agreement is a critical milestone in the development of our project at Neal Hot Springs,” said Daniel Kunz, CEO and President. “Initiation of this interconnection agreement, to gain access to the transmission grid, is a critical path activity that allows us to maintain our current development schedule for the project.”

Trading Markets.com – http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2174212/

37,000 Acres in So. Oregon aquired for Geothermal development February 5, 2009

Raser Technologies Inc. announced that it has entered into a long-term lease agreement with private land owners for the rights to 37,000 acres of geothermal resources in Southeastern Oregon.

“Working with the University of Utah’s Energy and Geoscience Institute, Raser has determined this area is one of the more significantly promising geothermal systems,” said Brent Cook, CEO of Raser. “We believe this is a vast resource area of mid temperature binary potential.”

The terms of the lease agreement were not specified, but include surface and other rights necessary to build geothermal power plants. The property includes a number of hot springs and wells that indicate the presence of significant geothermal resources.

“Well logs of drilling in the area over the last few decades in combination with our work done during the past 13 months in this area reveals heat and flows of geothermal fluids indicating that this is potentially a significant resource for geothermal development,” said Richard Clayton, Raser’s executive vice president. “The land is ideally located in southern Oregon so that the power generated from the resource can be sold into either the Oregon or California renewable energy markets.

Renewable Energy World - http://www.yourrenewablenews.com/raser+adds+37,000+acres+to+oregon+geothermal+resource+holdings_23088.html

Smart-Grid Infrastructure: Large Nevada Transmission Line Proposed January 21, 2009

For years, utility industry executives and regulators have longed to have one transmission line that directly connected Nevada Power Co. of Las Vegas with Reno-based Sierra Pacific Power Co.

The two companies, now both known as NV Energy, have been isolated from each other although they are part of the same holding company, NV Energy Inc.

A few weeks ago, LS Power of East Brunswick, N.J., was approved to build a transmission line on the east side of Nevada linking Las Vegas with transmission lines near Ely that run to Reno. LS Power hasn’t said whether it can sell enough transmission capacity to make the line feasible.

Now, Vulcan Power Co. of Bend, Ore., wants to build a second line on the west side of Nevada.

Vulcan wants state approval to build a 347-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line that would run from Yerington in the north to Jean in the south, giving Las Vegas and Southern California access to geothermal power resources in northern Nevada.

NV Energy continues to plan its own transmission lines on both sides of the state, spokesman Adam Grant said.

Vulcan is seeking Public Utilities Commission approval under the state’s Utility Environmental Protection Act. Separately, the company has applied to the federal Bureau of Land Management for a 200-foot right of way.

The transmission line would interconnect with Vulcan’s planned line that would run from Fernley to Bishop, Calif. The Fernley-Bishop line is undergoing environmental review, and Vulcan expects to start building it later this year.

http://www.modbee.com/state_wire/story/571579.html

Planned OIT Geothermal plant will power the campus and more January 13, 2009

For decades, the Oregon Institute of Technology has drawn from the earth to warm its classrooms, heat its swimming pool and melt snow from its sidewalks.

Now the rumble of heavy equipment and the installation of a 150-foot-tall drilling tower signal the school’s leap toward energy self-sufficiency. Within a year, OIT will become the first campus in the world powered entirely by its own renewable geothermal source.

The massive drilling rig will punch into a geological fracture almost a mile below ground, tapping 300-degree water to feed a 1.5-megawatt electrical plant. The $4.5 million high-heat plant will produce enough energy to power the entire Klamath Falls campus — and then some.

The project has ambitions beyond energy independence, though.

At a total cost of about $8.5 million, the plan includes a second, low-temperature power plant that can run on existing wells on the campus. Two large, heated aquaculture ponds and a pair of greenhouses will become incubators for researchers and companies that could bring industry to Klamath County.

Above all, the project will be a giant classroom for students drawn to OIT’s growing emphasis on renewable energy, said John Lund, director of the school’s Geo-Heat Center.

“We’re going to instrument the heck out of them because it’s part of learning,” said Lund, who envisions high school and younger students also learning from the geothermal array. “The investment the Oregon University System has made into it hopefully will be paid off.”

Eventually, the geothermal system could become part of a renewable energy “park” at OIT, where students will get hands-on experience with solar, wind and biofuels.

Klamath Falls has taken advantage of the area’s geology by tapping into the earth’s heat for more than a century, and more than 500 wells warm homes and businesses, municipal swimming pools and sidewalks.

The Geo-Heat Center, housed in a small office lined with books and research papers, is internationally known and has advised companies locally and globally. It helped Klamath Basin Brewing Co. five years ago to become the first in the world to use geothermal energy for its brewing process. And nearby Liskey Farms uses geothermal wells to heat its leased greenhouses for fruits and vegetables and for a predator mite operation, as well as a canola crusher to process oil for biodiesel.

But OIT’s electric plants take geothermal use a step further, drilling into the same crack in the earth’s crust that supplies 195-degree water at three existing campus wells.

Ultrasound testing last spring brought the fault into sharp focus, like the image of a baby in its mother’s womb. Although the drill can change direction, engineers hope to have a direct shot from the drilling site in the middle of campus. Water drawn from about 4,000 feet should be at least 300 degrees, Lund said, and provide the pressurized steam to turn the turbine in the power plant. Wastewater will be used in the campus heating system, the low-heat power plant or sold to other users.

There is no guarantee they will strike hot water — for example, recent exploratory drilling at Newberry Crater near Bend revealed plenty of heat but no water. But Lund and others are fairly certain their deep well will hit liquid.

“If it’s fractured, that means there are avenues for water to flow into it,” Lund said. “And we know there’s water in there because we’ve tapped into it.”

The drilling job itself is straightforward.

“It will be a challenge logistically rather than geologically,” said Patrick Hanson, marketing specialist for driller ThermaSource. “This is a highly unique project for us because it’s right in the middle of the university — and right in the middle of a parking lot of the university.”

Read More: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/for_decades_the_oregon_institu.html

Geothermal Energy is Booming in Western States December 31, 2008

Within six months of discovering a massive geothermal field, a small Utah company had erected and fired up a power plant — just one example of the speed with which companies are capitalizing on state mandates for alternative energy.

Anticipation of new energy policies has sparked a rush on land leases as companies like Raser Technologies Inc., based in Provo, lock up property that hold geothermal fields and potentially huge profits.

Raser’s find, about 155 miles southwest of Provo, could eventually power 200,000 homes.

The company said it will begin routing electricity to Anaheim, Calif., within weeks.

Earlier this month, California adopted the nation’s most sweeping plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

“We made a pleasant discovery, let’s put it that way,” said Brent Cook, the company’s chief executive.

Geothermal technology creates energy using heat that is stored in the earth. But geothermal still generates less than 1 percent of the world’s energy, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency.

Steady jump in leases
The number of government land leases and drilling permits have risen quickly, said Kermit Witherbee, who heads up the leasing program for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, with more than two dozen companies now trying to make a score like Raser.

Two years ago, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management approved 18 geothermal drilling permits. That number more than doubled in 2007 and has nearly quadrupled this year.

The government leased a staggering 244,000 acres for geothermal development in the past 18 months. Another 146,339 acres went up for bid earlilier this month in Utah, Oregon and Idaho.

All of it was claimed.

Raser’s find “has the potential to become one of the more important geothermal energy developments of the last quarter century,” said Greg Nash, a professor of geothermal exploration at the University of Utah.

The company quickly redrew its business plan, bumping up its planned development of 10 megawatts of power to 230 megawatts. That is in line with the field’s power potential according to calculations by GeothermEX Inc., a consulting firm.

By comparison, the largest group of geothermal plants in the world are The Geysers, about 60 miles northeast of San Francisco. The Geysers geothermal basin produces about 900 megawatts of energy, enough to power the city, said Ann Robertson-Tait, a senior geologist and vice president of business development for GeothermEX.

“The outlook for geothermal is great,” said Brian Yerger, an energy analyst for New York-based Jesup & Lamont.

Financing terms
Geothermal companies are relatively small players in the energy market and have had to scramble to lock up financing, particularly during a recession.

Read More: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28421258/

Nevada’s renewable energy possibilities are vast December 17, 2008

Maps showing vast stretches of Nevada that would eventually be alternative energy generating sites linked to power transmission lines were outlined Tuesday by a special commission formed by Gov. Jim Gibbons.

The Nevada Renewable Energy Transmission Access Advisory Committee displayed the maps at a meeting held on the same day that Democratic state leaders met with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Las Vegas, to discuss renewable energy.

The Republican governor said his advisory committee spent 18 months developing the maps, which show how geothermal, wind and solar energy can be generated and linked to a power grid serving Nevada and other states.

The advisory committee maps show solar power sites covering broad swaths of southern Nevada, and wind and geothermal energy areas in western, central and eastern parts of the state. It’s estimated that the areas could generate tens of thousands of kilowatt hours of power.

http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081217/BIZ/812170337

For more info on Nevada’s renewable energy possibilities go to the Renewable Energy Transmission Access Advisory Committee’s web site at: http:www.retaac.org/

200,000 Acres in west Opened for geothermal development December 11, 2008

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is conducting a Dec. 19 competitive lease sale for geothermal energy development on 61 parcels totaling nearly 200,000 acres in Utah, Oregon and Idaho. The event will be held in Salt Lake City to lease 47 parcels in western and southwestern Utah, totaling 146,339 acres; 11 parcels in Oregon, totaling 41,362 acres; and three parcels in south central Idaho, totaling 8,676 acres.

Utah has only two geothermal powerplants, totaling 47 MW, but it has 1,440 MW of developable potential, reports the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Boise-based U.S. Geothermal’s 13-MW Raft River plant, Idaho’s first geothermal plant, began commercial service in January, and there are no plants in Oregon.

“I think the time is right for this type of development over the long term, with growing concerns over climate change and clean-energy technologies,” says Robert Blackett, a geothermal specialist with the Utah Geological Survey. “The renewable energy resources being developed in Utah are being sold at premium prices to places like California that mandate clean energy technology.”

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Boulder, Colo., reports there are approximately 150,000 MW of identified and unidentified shallow geothermal resources, enough to meet approximately one-third of U.S. electrical demand. Yet only 2,936 MW of installed geothermal capacity operates in six western states.

“With renewable portfolio standards, there has been a tremendous interest in geothermal. I would suspect that opening up that area would indeed open it up to work,” says Al Knapp, principal of Crosswired LLC, a Kansas City-based energy consultant. “I suspect there is a substantial amount of untapped [geothermal] resources. Geothermal is much more constant and much more reliable, unless you have a major earthquake. It’s not as finicky as whether the winds blows or the sun shines.”

http://enr.ecnext.com/coms2/article_inpi081210PowerDevelop