Make it happen!
contribute now
Make it happen!
contribute now
Neal Hot Springs in eastern Oregon. It's the Northwest's second geothermal power plant to enter service.
credit:
U.S. Geothermal
The Northwest’s second geothermal power plant has entered service.
A Boise-based company called U.S. Geothermal built the project at Neal Hot Springs, near the small town of Vale in eastern Oregon. Company’s CEO Daniel Kunz says a good renewable energy resource and nearby transmission lines made Neal Hot Springs attractive for geothermal power generation.
“We have access to a relatively shallow reservoir. It’s less than 3,000 feet deep, which in our business is pretty shallow,” Kunz said. “It’s got the right temperature, so it’s near 300 degrees Fahrenheit. And we have had quite a success drilling very prolific production wells.”
Kunz’s company also operates the region’s first geothermal power plant at Raft River, in southeast Idaho. He says this new power plant at full production will generate enough electricity to light more than 20,000 average homes.
Idaho Power is buying all of the output for its customers. Other geothermal power exploration is happening right now in the North Cascades by Snohomish Public Utility District.
Separately, drilling is underway in central Oregon near Newberry Volcano, led by Seattle-based AltaRock Energy.
(This was first reported for the Northwest News Network.)
Share your experiences as part of EarthFix's Public Insight Network.
Oregon/Washington: Is there buzz in your community about coal trains or new export terminals?
Join our Public Insight Network!
EarthFix is a public media project of Oregon Public Broadcasting and Boise State Public Radio, Idaho Public Television, KCTS 9 Seattle, KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio, Northwest Public Radio and Television, Southern Oregon Public Television and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
