Seattle will have the opportunity to highlight its clean energy credentials next month when it hosts a major event for the geothermal energy industry.
The Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) will hold a Technology, Finance and Development Workshop in the city on June 3…. Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and a variety of other local officials are expected to be on hand at the event.

The link to the article is here.

For more information on the GEA Workshop, try this link

We would like to apologize for the loss of images to this blog.  Unfortunately a web programmer attempting to work on a different website (www.geothermalinnovation.org) inadvertently accessed North of the Hot Zone and erased the images and some of the links.

We are trying to correct this problem, but as some of the entries were original research it will take some time.  We are actively soliciting an intern who will work on this problem as part of a larger geothermal internship.

if there are any images or data referred to on this blog that you would like to have resolved sooner, please contact Lawrence Molloy directly at Lawrence@northofthehotzone.com

August 11-12, 2008
2320 California Street – Everett (Snohomish County Public Utility District)

Map to location pdf is here Traffic can be heavy heading North across the county line.  Plan accordingly.  Bus Service from Seattle is the Sound Transit 510, Schedule is here.  Carpooling can be good time to catch up with people you know.

The topics are salient to where Washington State is vis a vis geothermal.  SnoPud is to be commended for appropriately framing and hosting the event.  Link to SNOPUD Press Release is here. 

August 11

9:00 Registration

9:30 Opening Remarks: Steve Klein, General Manager SNOPUD and Congressman Phil Inslee US House of Representatives

9:45 Panel Discussion: “Geothermal Potential In the Pacific Northwest” Susan

• Petty, AltaRock Energy, Inc, Chair
• Curt Robinson, Geothermal Resources Council
• John Martinsen, SNOPUD
• Kermit Witherbee, Bureau of Land Management
• Bill Lum WA State Department of Ecology

11:15 Break

11:30 “Developing, Building and Operating Geothermal Power Plants” Guy Nelson, Team Leader, Utility Geothermal Working Group

12:15 Luncheon Presentation: “Geothermal Technologies and Utility Leadership Roles in Promoting Rural Development; Dan Bowers, USDA

1:30 “Geothermal Heat Pumps: Benefits and Issues”, Paul Bony, ClimateMaster

2:00 Panel Discussion: “Utility Perspectives” Craig Collar, SNOPUD Chair

• Craig Collar, Snohomish PUD
• Marilynn Semro, Seattle City Light
• Jerry Brown, Palo Alto Utilities
• Garth Larson, PacifiCorp

3:30 Break

 

3:45 “Risks and Rewards of Including Renewables in a Utility’s Resource Portfolio” Brian Walshe, ALTERA Energy

4:15 Products and Services Panel, Guy Nelson, Utility Geothermal Working Group

• John Pierce, WSG&R
• Susan Petty, AltaRock Energy
• Paul Bony, ClimateMaster

5:15 Adjourn for the Day

August 12

7:30 am Continental Breakfast

8:00 “A Tale of Two Buildings” Guy Nelson, UGWG

8:30 “GHP Analytical Tools” Katherine Johnson, Market Development Group

9:15 Geothermal Technologies in Waste Heat Recovery Applications, Guy Nelson, UGWG

9:45 Breakout Sessions: “How Do We Get More Cost-Effective Geothermal Projects Into the Market?”

• Utility Perspective
• Regulatory/Government Perspective
• Customer Perspective

10:45 Break

11:00 Reports from the Breakout Sessions

Noon Adjourn

Current media interest is high.  McClatchy Newspapers picked up the topic and the article by Les Blumenthal was run in the Tacoma Tribune, Bellingham Herald, and Seattle Times.  The Columbian had an editorial that was picked up in the State Editorial coverage by the Seattle Times.  Several blogs have picked up on the coverage.  It has also been mentioned that the Skagit Paper is writing a story.  Real Change’s editor have a story but it has not run.  The Daily journal of Commerce has assigned its environmental reporter to cover the topic.

General interest in the blog was initially high following the launch (several hundred) , but has trailed off significantly to barely registering double digits in daily activity. 

This project has initiated some interesting thinking on geothermal in Washington State.  The rational thinking quickly points to the Cascades and its potential.  Interest in Eastern Washington has been higher than expected and given its land status speaks to a long term proposition that ‘farmers’ will track now that they see what wind has been.  One Spokane blogger extrapolated the analogy of Nevada as the Saudi Arabia of geothermal to Eastern Washington being the "Kuwait" of geothermal given our respective northern positions.  The Rain curtain that masks the hot springs with the constant low cooler flows has led to a lot of nods in comprehension.  The transmission value of geothermal on the western Cascades is quickly realized as an important proposition for planning and development in the State.

Senator Adam Kline has expressed interest in running a study bill.  The State Geology Survey has offered to act as the report submitting State Agency.  The short legislative session offers little promise of success.  But the goal here is to begin the conversation on geothermal in Washington State.   In this case, a broad list of stakeholders is being welcome to participate in helping the State understand this resource.

Outside of Washington State, geothermal energy moves apace.  The GEA announced that the 2,936 MW of installed geothermal capacity in the U.S. is soon to be matched by an additional 3,368 MW under development.  The next step of Geothermal Washington is to engage the national and industrial tipping points that will accelerate the development of geothermal. 

The U.S. Geothermal Developable Resource Estimate  from the Western Governor’s Assessment.  Washington State is at 4.8%.  Some geothermal engineers believe that the precipitation and biomass of the western slope of the Cascades may mask the surface hydrothermal waters which indicate a higher resource below.

What: Lunch talk on geothermal energy potential for WA state

Who: Geothermal engineer Susan Petty & Lawrence Molloy will host this presentation and Q&A session

When: Thursday, January 17^th, Noon to 1:30pm

Where: NW Energy Coalition Office -  811 1^st Ave, Suite 305 Seattle

Who should attend? Individuals interested in renewable energy, utility staff, decision makers, climate advocates

BACKGROUND

Geothermal energy shows excellent promise as a reliable, low-carbon, and cost effective source of power.  It is already developed in over a dozen countries and the United States is the leader with 3,000 MW of developed power. While Washington state and Washingtonians are committed to renewable energy, we have yet to get a clear understanding of the potential for geothermal energy. Washington is considered a 2^nd tier state (compared to the hot zone of Nevada, California, Oregon and Idaho) with the potential for up to 600 MW statewide with current geothermal technology. Washington state has strong potential, yet nothing has been sited, permitted or developed. Today, hydroelectric power provides 70% of Washington’s electricity, and coal, nuclear and natural gas account for most of the remainder.Geothermal energy, "the forgotten renewable," is beginning to receive more attention as other forms of renewable energy are receiving broad public and technical consideration.  A recent MIT/Dept. of Energy study shows that it may be far more promising than once thought. Theoretically capable of providing abundant low-carbon energy, the geothermal resource in Washington State is poorly understood.  Like any natural resource, harvesting it has environmental impacts.  This brownbag will focus not only on the energy and carbon aspects, but also related environmental issues such as water and land impacts.

“This environmental advantage is due to low emissions and the small overall footprint of the entire geothermal system, which results because energy capture and extraction is contained entirely underground, and the surface equipment needed for conversion to electricity is relatively compact.”Government-funded research into geothermal was very active in the 1970s and early 1980s. As oil prices declined in the mid-1980s, enthusiasm for alternative energy sources waned, and funding for research on renewable energy and energy efficiency (including geothermal) was greatly reduced, making it difficult for geothermal technology to advance.Although geothermal energy is produced commercially today, and the United States is the world’s biggest producer, existing U.S. plants have focused on the high-grade geothermal systems primarily located in isolated regions of the west.

The full MIT Report is large (14 MB), but can be found here. Highlights to the report are linked here. Other recommendations:

• More detailed and site-specific assessments of the U.S. geothermal energy resource should be conducted.
• Field trials running three to five years at several sites should be done to demonstrate commercial-scale engineered geothermal systems.
• The shallow, extra-hot, high-grade deposits in the west should be explored and tested first.
• Other geothermal resources such as co-produced hot water associated with oil and gas production and geo-pressured resources should also be pursued as short-term options.
• On a longer time scale, deeper, lower-grade geothermal deposits should be explored and tested.
• Local and national policies should be enacted that encourage geothermal development.
• A multi-year research program exploring subsurface science and geothermal drilling and energy conversion should be started, backed by constant analysis of results.