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Resort ready to trade diesel for hot water Chena Hot Springs applies for grants for geothermal research, hopes to replace diesel generators with renewable power Patricia Liles Petroleum News Contributing Writer
Owners of the Chena Hot Springs Resort, about 60 miles northeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, and 30 miles from the Interior’s electric grid, want to trade in their diesel-fired generators for geothermal electrical generation.
The resort has applied to state and federal energy agencies for two separate geothermal research grants, according to Gwen Holdmann, vice president of new development at Chena Hot Springs Resort.
One grant application, made to the Alaska Energy Authority, part of the state-run Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, is requesting $500,000 to go toward the purchase and installation of a power system that will use the resort’s hot springs as its power source. The total cost to install and operate a 400-kilowatt geothermal powered electrical generation system will be $1.7 million, Holdmann told Petroleum News on June 28.
The resort already heats 40 buildings at the facility with its hot water, as well as using the springs for an indoor swimming pool and an outdoor rock pond. Converting to geothermal-powered electricity would allow the resort to shut down its 200 kilowatt diesel-fired generators, which cost about $200,000 to operate in 2003, Holdmann said.
“Now we’re paying almost a dollar more per gallon of diesel,” she said. Binary system planned The resort wants to install a binary generation system, which includes an additional step between extraction of hot water and electric generation, Holdmann said. “Our water isn’t hot enough to produce electricity alone.”
In a binary system, hot water is used to heat a refrigerant, such as isobutane or ammonia, which creates steam at a much lower temperature than water. The steam drives a turbine, which generates the electricity. Cooled spring water will be reinjected, Holdmann said.
Six wells have already been drilled to test the potential for geothermal-driven electricity, the latest in May 2003, she said. “We haven’t decided the specific location, but it will be within fairly close proximity to the wells,” Holdmann said. “We’re hoping to locate it about one-quarter of a mile away from the resort area.”
Previous well testing at Chena Hot Springs indicates the 400-kilowatt steam-driven turbine could be supported with the existing resource. “We’ve drilled only 300-foot wells, and the hottest water we have is 250 degrees Fahrenheit,” Holdmann said. “This initial phase on a small scale will let us see if a large generating capacity is possible, and if so, we’ll pursue it later.” Regional assessment project proposed The second research project Chena Hot Springs is hoping to secure funds for would evaluate that potential larger electric generating source of hot water at Chena Hot Springs, as well as conduct regional reconnaissance for geothermal resources.
The resort has applied to the U.S. Department of Energy for a grant to provide 80 percent of a $3.7 million, three-year geothermal research project, which would evaluate potential electric generation capabilities at six different known hot springs in the Interior.
In addition to drilling a deep well at Chena Hot Springs, down to 4,000 feet, the DOE-funded project would conduct aerial surveys and collect water and chemical samples at five other hot springs locations.
Other proposed test locations include Circle Hot Springs, a resort off of the Steese Highway about 130 miles northeast of Fairbanks and about seven miles from the village of Central, Alaska; and Manley Hot Spring, which is about 90 miles west of Fairbanks at the end of the Elliott Highway. Manley Hot Springs, a small village on a slough of the Tanana River, has a population of about 70.
Three remote locations for proposed geothermal research in the Interior include Big Windy Hot Springs, about 30 miles northeast of Chena Hot Springs; Hutlinana Hot Springs, about 24 miles northeast of Manley Hot Springs and the Tolovana Hot Springs, about 16 miles northeast of the village of Minto. Workshop planned AIDEA and the Alaska Energy Authority, state agencies involved with assisting Alaska’s electrical utility providers, are helping to coordinate a western regional geothermal workshop at Chena Hot Springs Resort Aug. 10 and 11. Called GeoPowering the West, the workshop will provide information about the emerging renewable energy source, said Bernie Smith, AIDEA’s geothermal coordinator.
“Sixteen western states have geothermal potential,” he said. “With the price of diesel, people are looking for different types of energy sources that could be competitive.”
He and about 25 others either from Alaska or representing Alaska’s electrical industry recently completed a trade mission to Nevada, to look at existing geothermal electric production facilities. AIDEA and the Alaska Energy Authority are now coordinating the state’s geothermal effort, Smith said, because “... there is potential for a geothermal industry here.”
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