G E O T H E R M A L R E S O U R C E S C O U N C I LG E O T H E R M A L R E S O U R C E S C O U N C I L

BulletinSACRAMENTO, CA

PERMIT #1698

Vol. 43, No. 4July/August 2014

32 GRC Bulletin l www.geothermal.org

People Then and Now So you’re coming to the GRC Annual Meeting in Portland this fall, ready for a frisson of cold and a dash of heat. With the leaves changing from green to gold, what will you do? Sit and sip a smooth pinot noir, local of course, mulling over the memories of fractious geothermal reservoirs you have known?

Will your reflections turn to winter—back 13,000 years or so when the Oregon Indians first gathered around crackling fires to hear their myths retold? They sat enthralled listening for hours, absorbing words and gestures from a master raconteur—often hired especially for the occasion.

Many Oregon myths include geothermal features—and a myth from the Klamath Indians is a case in point. Coyote in Love with a Star uses metaphors to explain the creation of Crater Lake. Modern-day geologists use science and reason. Read both versions and draw your own conclusions.

Crater Lake, MetaphorsIn the time when Coyote was a Spirit Coyote,

he sat all night watching the stars, falling in love with the most beautiful. He talked to her all night, but she never replied as she moved across the sky.

by Susan Fox Hodgsoncosmos@dcn.org

One night as the star passed Coyote, she reached down and grabbed him by the paws. Slowly they danced together through the sky, moving higher and higher in the silence and bitter cold. Growing afraid, Coyote begged to return to earth. So at the very top of the sky the star dropped him and he hit the earth like a moon, knocking out a great hole. His blood turned to water and a lake formed—Crater Lake in Klamath Indian country. Today when the Coyotes talk to the stars at night, they are scolding the star that killed their father.6

Crater Lake, Science and ReasonGeologists from the Oregon Department of

Geology and Mineral Industries describe the creation of Crater Lake differently. They say 7,700 years ago an eruption of a 12,000 foot high volcano named Mt. Mazama blew into the air a cloud of 50 cubic miles of rock and ash—enough to cover the whole state under almost three feet of debris. But instead, the ash spread out, falling into eight western states and two Canadian provinces. The volcano itself collapsed after the eruption and a great hole was formed that filled with melted snow. Called Crater Lake, it is Oregon’s only national park.

Geothermal Oregon 101-Myths, Hot Springs, Geology, Projects

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An amazing micro-aspect of Oregon’s geothermal geology is the quantity and variety of volcanic features found throughout the thick green forests around Bend—a destination for many GRC fieldtrip participants this fall and one of the most beautiful places I know.

The features you pass just on the eastern side of Highway 97 as you drive south from Bend for about 30 miles include: Lava Butte basalt lava flow, less than 2,000 years old; Lava River Caves, a drained lava tube; Lava Cast Forest, hollow casts of standing and fallen trees; some small and recent flows of dark gray, blocky basalt; an eruption of pumice ash about 1,900 years ago from Newberry Caldera; Big Obsidian Flow, black and gray rhyolitic glass erupted from Newberry Caldera; 150 basalt cinder cones, 200 to 400 feet high on the flanks of Newberry Volcano; Newberry Volcano, which includes the Newberry Caldera; and pumice and ash deposits from the eruption of Mt. Mazama, mentioned earlier.1 Many other features are on the western side of the highway.

The Newberry Volcano itself is a large and potentially active shield volcano about 7,989 feet high, east of the Cascade Range and about 20 miles southeast of Bend, within the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. Newberry is not only an atypical shield volcano, erupting andesitic, rhyolitic, and basaltic lavas—it is the least visible of Oregon’s volcanoes: very broad and with gently sloping sides.1

Hot Springs Not only myths but soaking in hot springs helped to pass the winter days, and Oregon has a lot of hot springs perfect for the job—mostly in the eastern two thirds of the state (see the maps). Like everyone around the world, the Indians used the hot springs for healing, worshipping, cooking, bathing, and relaxing. Tradition says Bagby Hot Springs, Jackson Well Springs, Big Springs, and Lithia Springs—among others—were deemed sacred sanctuaries, open to all willing to lay weapons down and come in

peace.3 An upcoming book by Jeff Birkby, due out in late 2014, is titled, Touring Washington and Oregon Hot Springs.

Geology Many aspects of Oregon geology catch the imaginations of geothermal developers. These include, “An enormous region extending from north-central Washington to northeastern California and including most of Oregon east of the Cascades, covered by basalt lava flows erupted during Miocene time, between 20 and 15 million years ago ... The lava plateau contains subtly different kinds of basalt erupted from different places at different times and other kinds of rocks, as well ... The oldest rocks in the plateau country are the Blue and Wallowa Mountains that stand like islands above the flood of basalt.”1 “Essentially, the eastern two-thirds of Oregon, beginning in the Cascades, has known geothermal resources or potential geothermal resources.”3

Physiographic regions of Oregon, by Elizabeth L. Orr.5

Big Springs in the early 1900s. PHOTO

COURTESY OF THE KLAMATH COUNTY MUSEUM.

Mt. Hood, named Wy’east by the Multnomah people, is a stratovolcano just 50 miles from Portland and part of the Cascade Range. The volcano, between about 11,239 and 11,249 feet tall, is the highest point in Oregon and the fourth highest in the Cascade Range. COURTESY TRAVEL PORTLAND

July/August 2014 33

EXPLANATION OF MAP UNITS

Thermal Springs

(maximum temperature reported)

Spring temperature not available

18.3˚C (64.9˚F) thermal spring

18.31˚C (64.9˚F) - 20˚C (68˚F) thermal spring

20.1˚C (68.18˚F) - 35˚C (95˚F) thermal spring

35.1˚C (95.18˚F) - 99˚C (210.2˚F) thermal spring

Low-Temperature Wells

(maximum temperature reported)

Temperature not available or reported

18.3˚C (64.9˚F) low-temperature well

18.31˚C (64.9˚F) - 20˚C (68˚F) low-temperature well

20.1˚C (68.18˚F) - 35˚C (95˚F) low-temperature well

35.1˚C (95.18˚F) - 121˚C (249.8˚F) low-temperature well

Geothermal Prospect Wells

(maximum temperature reported)

Temperature not available or reported

18.3˚C (64.9˚F) geothermal prospect well

18.31˚C (64.9˚F) - 20˚C (68˚F) geothermal prospect well

20.1˚C (68.18˚F) - 35˚C (95˚F) geothermal prospect well

35.1˚C (95.18˚F) - 121˚C (249.8˚F) geothermal prospect well

Geothermal Wells

(maximum temperature reported)

Temperature not available or reported

47.2˚C (116.96˚F) geothermal well

47.3˚C (117.14˚F) - 107.1˚C (224.78˚F) geothermal well

107.2˚C (224.96˚F) – 182.8˚C (361.04˚F) geothermal well

182.9˚C (361.22˚F) - 294˚C (561.2˚F) geothermal well

Legend

Interstate freeway U.S. highway State highway City/town County boundary

<_

<_

<_

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The map is published courtesy of the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, with special thanks to Alison Ryan. See the original map for information omitted in this reproduction.

36 GRC Bulletin l www.geothermal.org

Geothermal Projects Percentages published in August 2012 by Sustainable Northwest and the Oregon Department of Energy illustrate the range and relative quantities of fuels meeting Oregon’s thermal energy needs for residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The amount for geothermal energy is 0.4 percent, the lowest of all.7 Since August 2012, however, more geothermal electricity has gone on line in Oregon and more geothermal projects are underway.

“The Geo-Heat Center at the Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) estimates there are over 600 geothermal direct use applications in Oregon, not including undeveloped hot springs,” writes Andrew Chiasson of the Geo-Heat Center. “Some are no longer operational and others have been expanded. The first permanent geothermal power plant in Oregon was installed on the OIT campus in 2010, and a handful of other geothermal electrical generation projects are under development.”3

Details follow for several Oregon geothermal projects—some completed and the others underway. If your project is not here and you wish it were, let me know and we will include it in an upcoming issue.

Ormat Technologies: Ormat Technologies Inc. has exploration projects underway for electrical generation in three areas of Oregon. In one of the areas, at Glass Buttes, the company has completed some exploration studies and is waiting for permits to conduct more. The project has been awarded an exploration grant of $4.3 million under the U.S. Department of Energy Innovative Exploration and Drilling Projects program. At Newberry, Twilight Drilling Ltd. has begun exploratory drilling.

In the second area—the Lakeview/Goose Lake project, exploration studies are completed.

In a third area—the Warner Valley of south-central Oregon, about 30 miles east of Lakeview—Ormat and Alternative Earth Resources are jointly developing leases on private valley lands to generate up to 20 MWe. Geophysical studies and exploratory

drilling has occurred. Project feasibility studies, testing, and reservoir confirmation are in progress.

“We believe there are opportunities for geothermal development in Oregon, due to the potential of a favorable geothermal regulatory environment,” said Bob Sullivan, Ormat Vice President for Business Development.

U.S. Geothermal: On May 29 in an interview, Dennis Gilles, CEO of U.S. Geothermal, told Tobin Smith, CEO of NBT Equities Research, that U.S. Geothermal has a positive cash flow and a substantial potential for growth. In March 2014, Mr. Gilles offered a similar statement for the company’s Neal Hot Springs project in southeastern Oregon, near Vale, close to the Oregon-Idaho border.

Mr. Gilles said, “After years of effort by our team, we are now realizing significant cash flow from the Neal Hot Springs project. This is an important milestone, with the project operating both successfully and contributing a predictable cash flow to the company.”

The Neal Hot Springs project is a 22 MWe geothermal power plant. Largely supported through a $96.8 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy, the power plant was built as three, separate 7.3 MWe modules. Instead of a hydrocarbon, the working fluid is a non-flammable, non-toxic refrigerant compound. The cooling tower fans are larger than most.

The Neal Hot Springs geothermal power project near Vale, Oregon. PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. GEOTHERMAL.

The binary power plant will use an organic working fluid, capturing heat from the geothermal fluid in a closed-loop system. The power plant will generate 3 MWe and the left-over heat will be used in projects like aquaculture, greenhouse farming, and district heating.4

OIT Geo-Heat Center: The Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) Geo-Heat Center in Klamath Falls is recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy as a geothermal innovator.

Andrew Chiasson writes that since the early 1960s, the entire campus has been heated with direct-use geothermal energy. OIT is the only campus in the world meeting all its space- and domestic-hot water needs with its geothermal energy—thus saving about $1 million a year. In addition, OIT uses geothermal heat to melt snow on about 40,000 square feet of sidewalks and stairways, saving an additional $125,000 a year. And OIT provides geothermal heating to a neighboring retirement community.3

Surprise Valley Electrification Corporation: For the past five years, Surprise Valley Electric has been developing a geothermal power project in Paisley, Oregon, called the Paisley Valley Geothermal Project. Three geothermal wells have been drilled there in the past few years—two production wells and one injection well. Production Well 1, with rather disappointing flow rates, is sited near an existing hot irrigation well along a known fault. Well 2 produces over twice the volume of Well 1 with water nearly as hot. Well 3, the injection well, was completed in August 2012.

Power plant construction began in the fall of 2013. Now, in July 2014, commissioning has begun and the plant has operated for short periods. A little work remains before commercial operations can begin—probably by the fall of 2014.

View of the power plant at the Oregon Institute of Technology. COURTESY OF THE GEO-HEAT CENTER.

The nearly completed Paisley Valley power plant, with the heat exchangers in front and the cooling towers in the back.

Paisley Valley Geothermal Project overview. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SURPRISE VALLEY ELECTRIFICATION

CORPORATION (SVE ON THE MAP).

July/August 2014 37

In 2010, OIT installed a 280 kW Pratt & Whitney geothermal electric power plant on campus, simultaneously running the only combined geothermal heat and power plant in the U.S. and making OIT the only university campus in the world combining geothermal heat and power.2 The power plant generates about 1.75 MWe, saving OIT about $100,000 a year. The plant produces more than enough electricity to offset the energy needed to operate the well pump running the campus geothermal system, making the heating system 100 percent renewable.3,2 Visit the OIT campus on the GRC Fieldtrip to see the projects yourself.

AltaRock Energy, Inc. & Davenport Newberry Holdings, LLC: AltaRock Energy, Inc. actively manages over 40,000 acres of geothermal leases on the western flank of Newberry Volcano in central Oregon. The leases are held by Davenport Newberry Holdings, LLC, and administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. AltaRock is managing the Newberry EGS Demonstration Project in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy.

The leases are underlain by a large, conductive thermal anomaly and there is no known natural hydrothermal system in the area. Here the impermeable rock temperatures reach 650oF at depths of 10,000 feet, making the area particularly well suited to EGS development. The AltaRock EGS project, including its key hydro-

shearing process, is illustrated in a video at: http://altarockenergy.com/projects/newberry-egs-demonstration/. Find out personally about the AltaRock EGS project on the pre-meeting fieldtrip sponsored by the GRC.

Map with the EGS project area and the geothermal leases shown outside of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. COURTESY OF ALTAROCK ENERGY, INC.

Coffee Anyone? One last thought. Why not take a minute in Portland to sip a cup of—say—Stumptown coffee (one of many local brands). The delicious brew is served around the city with beans chosen and roasted by a local company, Stumptown Coffee Roasters.

Selected References1Alt, David D., and Hyndman, Donald W., 1978, Roadside

Geology of Oregon, Mountain Press Publishing Company, Missoula, Montana.

2Boyd, T. and DiPippo, R., 2012, Technical Assessment of the Combined Heat and Power Plant at the Oregon Institute of Technology, Klamath Falls, Oregon, Geothermal Resources Council Transactions 36, Davis, California.

3Chiasson, Andrew, Nov. 2011, The Economic, Environmental, and Social Benefits of Geothermal Use in Oregon, Geo-Heat Center Quarterly Bulletin.

4Culp, L., 2013, Geothermal Boosts Our Energy Future, Surprise Valley Electrification Corporation, Alturas, California.

5Orr, William N. and Orr, Elizabeth L., 2012, Geology of Oregon, Oregon State University Press.

6Ramsey, Jarold, ed., 1977, Coyote Was Going There, Indian Literature of the Oregon Country, University of Washington Press, pp. 210-211.

7Sustainable Northwest and the Oregon Department of Energy, August 2012, Sustainable Northwest Resources, Oregon’s Thermal Energy Baseline. n

38 GRC Bulletin l www.geothermal.org

GRCAnnual Meeting

Fieldtrips

Friday & Saturday, September 26th & 27th• Newberry Crater Overnight Trip - $350 per person

Sunday, September 28th• Wine Tour - $125 per person• Mount St. Helens Trip - $150 per person

Thursday, October 2nd - Saturday, October 4th• Klamath Falls 3-day Trip - $525 per person

For more info go to:www.geothermal.org/meet-new.html