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Map courtesy U.S. Geothermal Inc. The Raft River geothermal project is located in a valley 40 miles southwest of Burley, Idaho.
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There's hot water aplenty in them thar valleys, and like undiscovered gold nuggets of yesteryear it's about to be tapped by modern-day prospectors. Investors back these "prospectors" with big bucks hoping that renewable geothermal energy is the hot ticket for the future.
One of the hot spots for exploration is in southern Blaine County near Magic Reservoir.
The hot water right beneath our feet in Idaho is not being used to its full potential, said a report from the Geothermal Energy Association, a Washington, D.C.-based trade organization. But that's all about to change.
The first geothermal power plant in Idaho and in the Pacific Northwest is expected to start generating electrical power in October with hot water dredged from the bowels of the earth.
The Raft River geothermal project, 40 miles southwest of Burley, will be Idaho's leap into a "back- to-the-future" technology that's been around for a quarter century and been used around the world.
"We've got tremendous potential (for geothermal) in the state of Idaho," said Doug Glaspey, chief operating officer of U.S. Geothermal Inc., the Boise company that built and will operate the plant.
The 50-page, Geothermal Energy Association trade group report, written in 2006, agrees.
"Idaho may have the largest untapped potential for geothermal development in the U.S.," a report synopsis said.
Written by Dan Fleischmann, the report, titled "Geothermal Development Needs in Idaho," states: "Despite not having a single power plant in 2006, Idaho's potential for geothermal electric power development rivals California and Nevada—states that already have nearly 60 power plants between them."
Geothermal energy is heat (thermal) extracted from the earth (geo) from rock and water that is captured in fractures and pores within rock in the earth's crust.
Scientists believe that planet Earth started from a completely molten state and would have cooled and become solid if it were not for the geothermal sources beneath its surface. The experts believe that "radioactive decay occurring deep within the earth" is the source for geothermal energy, according to the Oregon Institute of Technology's Geo-Heat center Web site.
The reservoirs of hot water beneath the earth are not static, said U.S. Geothermal's Glaspey, adding there is always an in-flow of heat into the system. "That heat is radiating all the time."
Glaspey said experts believe that Raft River could produce energy for 20 years and unlike solar or wind power there is little down time for geothermal because a plant can operate at about 95 percent capacity around the clock and seven days a week. But potential big returns on big investment can also mean big risk.
"It's very like drilling for oil or gas," Glaspey said. "You can get dry wells. You pays your money and takes your chances."
The 50-page study achieved many conclusions.
Although Idaho did not have any geothermal plants before now, the state has a history of using geothermal resources for almost as long as there has been an Idaho. Boise started using geothermal-heated water to heat buildings in 1892.
There are several reasons that Idaho could become the poster child for geothermal, according to the picture painted by the study.
The Basin and Range Province and the Snake River Plain are both promising areas for electric power production. Both regions contain numerous fractures, faults and "inherent high crustal heat flows," all-important geographic features for geothermal power. There are 308 known hot springs and 745 geothermal wells in the state, and many deep geothermal acquifers may not be apparent because they don't reach the surface.
"Once ignored by geothermal developers, Idaho is seeing a resurgence of new leases and project considerations. Raft River is only the beginning for geothermal power development in Idaho."
A greater awareness of geothermal and emerging markets has primed the pump for geothermal, said report author Fleischmann in a telephone interview. Fleischmann is now a project initiation manager for Reno-based Ormat, a company that develops geothermal power.
"The way economics are changing ... there is more opportunity to use geothermal resources," he said. With energy costs rising "a plant like Raft River now starts to fit the mold."
The area seeing the most geothermal potential in the Snake River Plain is in the Magic Reservoir Hot Springs area on the Blaine-Camas county line. Testing there shows high hot water temperatures, and it's "promising due to its location near transmission lines and a substation," the Fleischmann report said. Two Ormat lease applications near the reservoir on BLM and private land are being reviewed.
Those applications are in limbo until revisions can be made to a federal Bureau of Land Management land-use plan that would address geothermal leasing, said Karen Porter, the leaseable mineral program lead with the BLM in Boise.
The BLM is doing a yearlong national review to address a backlog of geothermal leases, but this would not affect Ormat's applications, she said. A lease gives an applicant the right to explore a site's potential, but each and any further steps are reviewed under federal environmental laws, Porter said.
Boise homes and businesses that use geothermal for heating (known as direct use) pay 30 percent less than those using natural gas, Fleischmann said. Idaho's long winters and expansive geothermal sources make direct use heating "a viable heating alternative to fossil fuels," his report states.
U.S. Geothermal acquired the Raft River project in 2002, and it has a 20-year contract with Idaho Power Co. to sell 10 megawatts of electrical power. That, however, is being re-negotiated in an effort for a 13 megawatt contract, Glaspey said. Calls to Idaho Power seeking comment were not immediately returned.
Federal law requires a utility, such as Idaho Power, to buy independently generated power, said Glaspey. U.S. Geothermal is not considered a utility or a regulated utility and can only sell power to a utility, he said.
Technical review of the Raft River site estimate that it has a 50 percent probability of producing 15.6 megawatts of power per square mile, the Geothermal Web site said.
Geothermal "has reserved 36 megawatts of transmission" on a power line "adjacent to the project which insures access to the Western power markets," the Web site said.
A megawatt equals 1 million watts. One thousand watts equal the amount of electricity required to light 10,000, 100-watt light bulbs.
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Photo courtesy U.S. Geothermal Inc.
The Raft River geothermal project, 40 miles southwest of Burley, is the first geothermal power plant in the Pacific Northwest. The plant takes hot water from within the earth?s crust and turns it into electrical power. It is scheduled to start generating power by October.
