Archive for December, 2009
Korean group wants in on Phillipine GT exploration
In the Philippines, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (Koica) is reported to have asked permission from the Department of Energy to let it to conduct feasibility studies on several geothermal sites in the country, namely Mindoro, Bohol and Bukidnon. If the areas prove to have GT potential, Koica would bring investment money to the potential [...]
Bank donates $75K for restoration, geothermal work
In Vermont, Chittenden Bank awarded Champlain College $75,000 over five years to support the Perry Hall Restoration Project. The building, built in 1859, is considered part of Burlington’s architectural heritage. The project includes energy-efficient climate control systems, including geothermal pumps, with a goal of earning Platinum certification from the LEED rating system. The renovated Perry [...]
UK GT project gets government funds
In England, Geothermal Engineering Ltd has picked up a $2.4 million grant from the Department of Energy and Climate Change to help to develop the country’s first commercial-scale geothermal power plant. The plant – which still needs approval from Cornwall Council – is to provide 55MW/year for local use and 10MW for the national grid. [...]
Geologist acquitted in Swiss court of causing earthquakes
In Switzerland, a Basel criminal court acquitted geologist Markus Haering who stood accused of causing earthquakes while working on the creation of a geothermal power plant. The court said it acquitted him because he had not deliberately damaged properties or acted carelessly. Haering said he was relieved by the verdict and Basel prosecutor Thomas Hug [...]
Faulkner 1 plant production upped to 30 MW
In Canada, Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. said that it had increased production 3 MW to 30.5 MW at its Faulkner 1 power plant. The company accomplished this by constructing a pipeline and is injecting 500 gallons per minute of spent geothermal brine from the plant into an existing well with a total conversion cost of [...]
Panax signs MOU with Santos for Tirrawarra project
In Australia, Panax Geothermal signed a memorandum of understanding with Santos for the possible purchase of electricity that might be produced from the geothermal exploration at the Tirrawarra Project in South Australia. Santos, an oil and gas exploration and production company, has operations in the Moomba region. Panax still has exploration, drilling and infratructure work [...]
Coal beds cap geothermal resources
In Australia, researchers at the University of Melbourne assessing the potential of geothermal energy in Victoria have pinpointed the Latrobe Valley as a hot spot. Research found that temperatures beneath the valley were higher at 2,300 feet than anywhere else in Australia, and it lies beneath a coal bed. University geologist Mike Sandiford said “Southern [...]
Johnstown firm awarded stimulus funded contract
In Pennsylvania, H.F. Lenz Co., a Johnstown-based architectural and engineering firm, was awarded a $79,000 contract from the National Park Service under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The company will design geothermal heating systems for installation at the Johnstown Flood National Memorial and at Fort Necessity National Battlefield. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act [...]
This Week in Geothermal Opinion: Feds should fund Jemez Pueblo project
The El Paso Times, Texas says “In northern New Mexico, the Jemez Pueblo will be getting about $5 million of that money to drill some exploratory wells on its reservation. The federal Department of Energy has determined that much of the West, including a significant portion of New Mexico, has geothermal potential. There’s one problem. [...]
Keeping GT wells in shape with impulse technology
In New Hampshire, Renewable Energy World has a very interesting article on sustaining ground-source geothermal systems in tip-top shape. The article describes the use of impulse generation well development and rehabilitation techniques as alternatives to conventional methods. The techniques use the release of a compressed gas into discrete sections of the well screen in quick, [...]
