Over 65 participants attended the Geothermal Workshop for utilities hosted by Snohomish PUD in Everett last week. During the day and a half event on both power generation and ground source heat pumps the focus was on the state of the industry and the opportunities now for advancing geothermal in Washington State.
The two most important Washington State specific geothermal findings were SnoPud’s goal of 90 MW from Geothermal in the Cascades by 2020 and the estimate by the National Geothermal Resources Council that Washington State’s geothermal potential could be double previous estimates and exceed 600 MW.
The event was opened by SnoPud Director Steve Klein and Congressman Jay Inslee (via recorded video). Congressman Inslee, whose district includes part of the service district of SnoPud, talked about making Washington State a geothermal leader and was looking forward to "cut(ting) the ribbon on the first plant" . Congressman Inslee has also arranged for $500K in funding to assist SnoPud in developing their geothermal plan.
However, the state faces a significant challenge as resource estimates are from a 1979 study. "Comprehensive research and exploration have not been done (in Washington State)" according to GRC Executive Director Curt Robinson. And yet, he felt confident enough to cast an estimate of 600 MW, primarily in the Cascades and Central Washington.
Western Washington’s geothermal potential remains unknown and is largely masked by the rainfall on the western slopes of the Cascades. Experts still feel that several sites may exist along the I-5 transmission corridor, a critical factor in the siting of any geothermal plant.
Development costs have soared in recent months as capital, material and exploration costs have significantly spiked. Guy Nelson with the Geothermal Working Group stated that the current rule of thumb is now $4 Million per MW. Geothermal power can range from 6.6 to 11.6 cents per kiloWatt hour.
Rural PUD’s also learned about the new loan assistance program by the USDA for ground source heat pumps. This program offers a great opportunity for Eastern Washington utilities to help homeowners install and finance home heat pumps that are critical for utilities interested in peak shaving, and homeowners interested in significantly reducing their home heating and cooling costs.
Representatives from Seattle City Light, Tacoma Power and Skamania PUD were in attendance, as was State Senator Adam Kline. Senator Kline is talking to Senate leadership about introducing the Geothermal Study Bill again this year. He is confident that a straight forward study bill (no policy, regulations, funding or taxes) that explores both power generation and heat pumps will garner strong interest by legislators throughout the state.
Tags: Best of, News, WA State by Lawrence Molloy
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