Thursday, Jan 24th, 2008 – The Bellingham Herald covers the recent developer interest in the Cascades. Les Blumenthal, long observant in Washington State, covers the points. He mentions Vulcan Power’s speculation (no relation to Vulcan in Seattle) and Raser’s deal with International Paper. The impeding “Rain Curtain” on the Western Cascades is discussed as well.
Near Baker Lake, southeast of Mount Baker, an Oregon company is waiting for leases from the Forest Service and considering a 100-megawatt geothermal plant that could provide enough electricity for 100,000 people. Steven Munson, the chief executive of Vulcan Power Co., said there is more than an 80 percent chance the plant will be built.
On the east slopes of the Cascades in Yakima and Kittitas counties, a Utah firm, Raser Technologies Inc., is focusing on 5,000 acres of International Paper land for possible development.
The “Rain Curtain” masks the indicators
Hot springs and other surface indications of geothermal activity are easier to spot in arid areas. In the Cascades, the “rain curtain” and runoff from melting snow make it harder to pinpoint potential geothermal areas.
“The Cascades have always been an area of interest, but it is so wet the heat flow is masked,” said John Lund, director of the Oregon Institute of Technology’s Geo-Heat Center in Klamath Falls.
In the article there is a diagram of a geothermal power plant.
With a temperature of 105F (41C) this field is a mere 300 feet thick, and covers 165 square miles around Walla Walla. This resource offers a net thermal potential of 57MWth. However the data is largely reliant on shallow boreholes. The Davenport reference below refers to the heat gradient, not the temperature measured. However, high heat gradients are excellent indicators. It is important to note that these wells are shallow, limiting confidence.
In Lincoln County, an area which extends 50 km west from Davenport contains many wells with good quality gradients ranging from 50 to 6OC/km. Most of the wells are less than 750 meters deep, and very little information is available on the temperature and production of the aquifers within the anomaly. The same could he said of the anomaly in Douglas County, where a few wells suggest above normal gradients.
Click on the map above to enlarge. A higher resolution map (3.2 MB PDF) Excellent WA State Map. These maps were issued by the Dept. of Energy’s Idaho lab. The map shows some of the 34 thermal hot springs and the 941 high temperature wells that have been drilled (primarily around the Columbia River Basin). Greater thermal resources are believed to reside along the western flank of the Cascades. However, thermal springs in this area are masked by high levels of rainfall and precipitation. Though issued earlier this decade, primary data is extracted from the 1983 Geologic assessment of geothermal potential.
From the 1982 Assessment by Korosec in support of the State-wide survey. The data is more detailed and contoured than other maps on Eastern Washington. These areas denote thermal gradients from shallow wells.
This data goes on to show specifics for Walla Walla, Simco and Yakima. Data is primarily deep irrigation wells that were assessed for thermal value. The basic logic is that high gradients of 50C/km could lead to high temp sources at a depth of 4km.
Once again, the seminal 1983 Assessment, the Columbia Basin is discussed. It is clear that the data is limited and wells shallow. Geothermal reserves seems more like references to distinct pockets.
Columbia Basin, Yakima Valley, and Walla Walla Valley: From numerous temperature-gradient measurements for wells throughout the Columbia Basin province,several areas have been identified where above average gradients occur, resulting in warm aquifers at relatively shallow depth. The best areas are discussed in chapter 7 of Korosec and others, (1983). They incl ude the Yakima-Ahtanum-Simcoe areas, Moses Lake-Ritzzvi11e-Connell region, portions of Lincoln and Douglas Counties, Horse Heaven Hills , lower Yakima Valley, the Walla Walla Valley, and several other smaller anomalous areas.
The best areas around Yakima include the city proper, Moxee Valley to the east, and the Yakima River Valley to the north and to the south of the city. Many irrigation and and domestic wells produce 69F (21C) to 95F (35C) water from depths generally less than 400 to 500 meters.
However, the quality of these holes is generally poor and the depths shallow. The summary is below.
The United States is frequently embarrassed over its energy policy. The most recent occurrence was in the area of geothermal energy. Last fall, the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resource Committee sat through one of the best presentations on our nation’s geothermal energy potential. It was delivered by the president of Iceland.
He spoke to the expansion of geothermal energy in the western United States. That expansion is coming to Washington state. Our location on the edge of a regional “hot zone,” along with the accelerating interest in all forms of renewable energy, means that developers soon will be knocking at our doors.
Underground windmills, heat mining and enhanced geothermal systems are all names and references for geothermal energy. Instead of digging or drilling for gas or coal to burn and generate steam in order to turn a turbine, you tap the Earth’s natural heat to create energy. It works. And, it works today.
Power engineers consider it a mature technology — a demonstrated one — and most of the technology, though 20 years old, is available today off the shelf. Utilities show keen interest in it because it is steady, not intermittent like wind and solar. However, like those two energy sources, geothermal is renewable. It has high initial costs, roughly two-thirds coming from drilling. But, once built, it has no fuel costs.
The hot zone of California, Nevada (the Saudi Arabia of geothermal), Idaho and Oregon could produce tens of thousands of megawatts along the spine of the Sierra Nevadas and Cascades. Washington state sits on the edge of this hot zone. The 34 thermal hot springs throughout the state are just the surface of our potential.Yet, Washington state has zero megawatts of geothermal. “It also has zero planned, proposed or within the plant approval process, even though we have excellent potential,” laments Susan Petty, one of the world’s leading geothermal reservoir engineers. However, there is now news of International Paper assessing their geothermal potential with a partner.
Petty, who is based in Seattle, points out there is no current hard data on the exact nature of the state’s geothermal resources. But, working off 25-year-old geologic studies, it’s reasonable to say we are among the top 10 states.
Petty also notes Washington state is unprepared to respond or assist if a geothermal development permit were submitted today. This is major oversight that must be addressed.
Gov. Christine Gregoire is committed to renewable energy, but faced strong opposition over the Horizon wind farm outside of Ellensburg because of its size and profile. That would not be an issue with geothermal: It has the smallest surface footprint among renewable forms of energy; less space than the Seattle Center grounds would be needed to produce the energy equivalent of 65 wind turbines along the ridge line in Kittitas County.
Geothermal in Washington state also would generate solid, respected jobs in parts of the state that are seeking to expand their employment bases. The 1993 Whatcom County Report calculates 124 jobs in eastern Whatcom county.
Yet, we must not mislead ourselves into thinking geothermal is a clean and limitless energy (we did that with nuclear power in the 1950s). There are impacts. Water issues are the biggest concern, especially if developers work on the cheap and do not have the proper recovery technology. Carbon dioxide is produced, but the impacts are one-fifteenth to one-thirtieth that of natural gas, the cleanest of the abundant fuel sources currently in our portfolio.
If geothermal is done correctly and respectfully — no development on sacred sites or in wilderness areas and national parks — we can bring hundreds of megawatts online in Washington state. The discussion needs to begin now with the tribes, utilities, environmentalists and state agencies.
It is time for Washington state to recognize the great potential for what is being called “the forgotten renewable.” The underground windmills are waiting.
This 1992 Report, funded by the Bonneville Power Administration, identified 124 jobs if a modest (100MWe) geothermal power plant was developed on the eastern side of Mt. Baker in Whatcom County. 62 direct plant jobs!
Lastly, an additional $9.4 million in related income to the county, plus royalty, ongoing O & M and property taxes reaching $14 Million a year at its peak.
These numbers are 15 years old but basic leasing and taxing regulations have not changed. Revenue back to the local community from federal land holding lease receipts is a higher percentage because of the resource extraction aspect.
Washington State’s Current Energy Sources. As a state, we use just under 30,000 MWe. Hydro power dominates. Geothermal has yet to be developed. Low estimates place us at 50MWe (developable by 2015), longer term prospects 2025 projects are upward to 600MWe. Development of new Hydro is unlikely, as resources are largely exploited. Wind has strong upward potential.
Schuster and Bloomquist (1994) have compiled a resource database, which includes 975 thermal wells and springs, an increase of 165% over the number of entries reported in 1981. Most of the thermal springs occur in the Cascade Range, associated with stratovolcanoes. In contrast, 97% of the thermal wells are located in the Columbia Basin of southeastern Washington. These thermal wells are strongly associated with the Columbia River Basalt Group and the Columbia Basin. Rather than prioritize limited areas within this region for detailed studies, Schuster and Bloomquist (1994) make three recommendations for greatly expanding geothermal use in the state. The recommendations are: (1) match existing thermal wells with proposed retrofit or new construction; (2) measure temperature gradients, obtain well-test data and drill cuttings, and collect water samples for chemical analysis; and (3) inform state residents and policy-makers about uses of geothermal energy.Schuster, J. E. and Bloomquist, R.G., 1994. Low-Temperature Geothermal Resources of Washington, Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources Open-File Report 94-11, 53 p.
Washington State University Energy Program Washington Energy Policy Office Washington State Office of Trade and Economic Development Mark Anderson, Senior Energy Policy Specialist Tony Usibelli, Division Director
GeoPowering the West — State Working Group Gordon Bloomquist Geothermal, Hydrothermal and Integrated Energy Systems Washington State University Tel: (360) 956-2016
The 34 thermal springs in the state are listed in the Chart below. The Sherman Fumarole comes in at 266. The data are extracted from the 1980 NOAA database, then referred to as the 30 Hot Springs of Washington State. Note that the longitude and latitude are given, as well as the temperature in F and C. Here is the NOAA website list of Washington State Thermal Springs:
The report is a compendium of numerous studies conducted over the decades leading up to the early 1980’s. The full link to the report is here. Most of the assessment is deep technical overviews with no major conclusions or findings. The report relies on numerous studies in the decades leading up to 1983. A status of the geothermal assessment was created in the included chart. Other areas of interest are Mt. Baker and Wind River. The Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens were glossed over because of their National Park or Wilderness area designation.
Once again, from the Western Governor’s Assessment. These projects were vetted/proposed by a workgroup tasked by the Western Gov. Association. The possible sites are Mt. Baker, Mt. Adams, Mt St. Helen and Mt. Rainier. It is based on modest power purchase agreements in line with current market forces – 8 cents! The core Washington state data is from the 1983 Geologic Assessment.
In January of 2007, the Geothermal Energy Association’s assessment of Washington state was bleak. The full assessment is here. It is a good overview of respective state’s activity in looking at their geothermal potential.
Most agree that the use of geothermal resources in Washington State is vastly under-utilized. Despite numerous wells and springs, the state only uses geothermal heating for several small spas and resorts.
An Assessment of Geothermal Resource Development Needs inthe Western United StatesJanuary 2007Daniel J. FleischmannGeothermal Energy AssociationLike Oregon, Washington State is not a producer of oil and natural gas. In addition, exploration drilling for geothermal resources has been very limited, particularly due to the fact that its best resource areas reside at or near scenic areas and often involve USFS land. The areas in the state with the greatest potential for power development are in the Cascades. This includes the Mount Adams area in the southern Cascades, the Wind River area east of Vancouver and the Mount Baker area in the northern Cascades. There are several pending leases to explore these areas for geothermal electric power potential, however environmental restrictions limit where projects can be sited, and little progress has been made over the past few years.
Interest in Eastern Washington’s abundance of shallow thermal wells leads one to examine the geologic context. Visually, this US Geologic Survey Map of the Pacific Northwest shows a strong proliferation of shallow thermal boreholes. These thermal wells have varying quality of data (and in some cases the wells have no thermal data, but were simply listed as warm waters). 28 of these boreholes have waters exceeding 150C/300F The link to the report is here The proper title/reference is
Digital maps of low- to moderate-temperature geothermal springs and wells in the Pacific Northwest: a contribution to the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project by Pamela D. Derkey and Bruce R. Johnson Open-File Report 95-689
