Newberry Geothermal Project Update

Search for Geothermal Energy Slow
KOHD News – August 31, 2009

Update on the quest for geothermal power at Newberry volcano. Information provided by Davenport Power LLC, operator of the project.

Review of 2009 Exploration

After drilling two deep exploratory wells (10,060 and 11,600 feet respectively), the Newberry Geothermal Project, operated by Davenport Power LLC, found very high levels of heat in both wells, but little commercially viable resource – neither hot water nor steam. During the past months, Project geologists and scientists evaluated data from these wells along with previously gathered information. This time-consuming process is normal in development of geothermal resource projects. The three pads and two wells the Newberry Project constructed last year remain in place and will continue to be maintained and utilized in exploration activities.

Surface Geophysical Surveys

The Newberry Project team has begun implementation of the next exploration phase on Newberry Geothermal Project’s BLM-leases (Bureau of Land Management). Planned surface geophysical work will collect data to assist in understanding the nature and geology of Newberry Volcano. This geophysical work consists of a series of gravity surveys and magnetotelluric surveys.

This surface work will be non-invasive and low-impact in nature. It will occur on geothermal lease holdings on the western flanks of Newberry Volcano. The planned geophysical data gathering is similar to that which was approved by the BLM and Forest Service (FS) in 2006. This work is anticipated to start in 2010.

Christmas Valley Radar Site Interest Increases

Area solar activity heats up
Energy companies eye sites near Christmas Valley
By Keith Chu – The Bulletin – August 28, 2009

While government bureaucracy continues to hold up a proposed solar facility at a former military radar base in Christmas Valley, the proposal has attracted two developers to try and cash in on the solar power potential on other sites just south of the Deschutes County line, according to state and local officials.

About seven companies are interested in the radar site, state officials have said. But those companies, which the state won’t name, have been waiting for more than a year for the military land to become available for development.

Multiple Factors Drive the Price of PV Solar Down

More Sun for Less: Solar Panels Drop in Price
By Kate Galbraith – New York Times -August 26, 2009

When Greg Hare looked into putting solar panels on his ranch-style home in Magnolia, Tex., last year, he decided he could not afford it. “I had no idea solar was so expensive,” he recalled.

But the cost of solar panels has plunged lately, changing the economics for many homeowners. Mr. Hare ended up paying $77,000 for a large solar setup that he figures might have cost him $100,000 a year ago.

“I just thought, ‘Wow, this is an opportunity to do the most for the least,’ ” Mr. Hare said.

For solar shoppers these days, the price is right. Panel prices have fallen about 40 percent since the middle of last year, driven down partly by an increase in the supply of a crucial ingredient for panels, according to analysts at the investment bank Piper Jaffray.

The price drops — coupled with recently expanded federal incentives — could shrink the time it takes solar panels to pay for themselves to 16 years, from 22 years, in places with high electricity costs, according to Glenn Harris, chief executive of SunCentric, a solar consulting group. That calculation does not include state rebates, which can sometimes improve the economics considerably.

Tollgate Substation Has Its Detractors

There are many challenges to fixing, upgrading, maintaining and expanding the grid. Trying to please homeowners whose homes are near new or enlarged substations are just one of the challenges.  It’s clear there are no simple answers.

The trade-offs are addressed in the very last paragraph of the article: “… once the system is completely converted to 115kv power, the system will be more reliable and more redundant, reducing or eliminating outages due to overload, and making outages due to weather or accidents less lengthy.”

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Tollgate substation nearing completion
By Jim Cornelius – Nugget News – August 25, 2009
 
Almost all the construction is complete and landscape berms are newly planted. The Central Electric Cooperative’s Tollgate substation is set to go on line this fall.

CEC is waiting for one last piece of equipment that was delayed in coming from the manufacturer.

“We’re about a month-and-a-half, two months from completely energizing and basically saying we’re done,” said CEC spokesman Alan Guggenheim.

One major feature of the new substation is completed. The Deschutes County Hearings Officer required CEC to create six-foot tall landscaped berms to partially obscure the substation from the views of residents whose homes at the edge of the subdivision look out onto the massive new steel structure.

Sisters Landscaping Company last week planted the berms with native grasses, sage, Oregon grape and other indigenous species. Three weeks ago, CEC reached an agreement allowing the utility to irrigate the berms using Tollgate water.

“We’ll water according to the rules of the homeowners’ association,” Guggenheim said. “We’ll irrigate pretty intensively for the next couple of weeks. Nature takes over at a certain point and determines what is going to take root and what the deer are going to eat.”

Summer Energy News Digest for Central Oregon

Central Oregon News Digest • Summer 2009
Compiled by The Garner Group – August 24, 2009

ENERGY

Hydro plants in the pipeline, literally and figuratively

Federal stimulus grants to two Central Oregon irrigation districts, directed at water conservation, will fund canal piping and construction of small-scale generating plants. The Swalley Irrigation District will receive $2 million to complete enclosing 5.1 miles of its main canal north of Bend, including an 0.75-mW hydro plant near Highway 97. Three Sisters Irrigation District was awarded $1.3 million to initiate a pipeline project that will increase stream flows in Whychus Creek. This project eventually will include a 1.5-mW hydro plant. Both generating plants are “in-conduit” designs that utilize water flow within the pipeline.

County approves wind farm, with conditions

The Crook County planning commission has approved the West Butte Wind Power Project, proposed for a 20-acre site near Millican. Conditions include formation of a technical advisory committee to address wildlife concerns. Access will require a right-of-way permit from the Bureau of Land Management, in turn requiring an environmental impact study. Work on the $220 million project, which will involve from 32 to 54 turbines, is expected to start in spring 2010. The 104-mW project falls below the threshold that would require approval beyond the county level.

La Pine may yet see a biomass power plant

While one company’s plans to build a biomass-fueled power plant in La Pine are on hold, another has moved into the arena. Biogreen Sustainable Energy Co. of St. Helens, Ore., will buy a 10-acre parcel in the La Pine Industrial Park and build a $55-$60 million, 19-mW electricity generating plant fueled by thinnings from private and public forests nearby. The project will support 100 construction jobs and employ 20 people directly upon completion, plus another 80-90 indirect jobs in forestry and transportation. Silvan Power Co. has an option to buy 28 acres in La Pine for a biomass power plant but plans apparently have stalled over fuel availability issues.

Swalley Irrigation District’s Ponderosa Hydro Plant Gets Stimulus Funds

Oregon canal piping projects win stimulus funds
From KTVZ.COM news sources – August 20, 2009

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced Thursday that the Bureau of Reclamation has identified two Challenge Grant projects in Central Oregon that will receive a $3.3 million share of $40 million coming to Oregon under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  

Through the Challenge Grant Program’s Water Marketing and Efficiency Grants, Reclamation provides 50/50 cost share funding to states and irrigation and water districts for projects focused on water marketing, conservation and efficiency.  Projects are selected through a competitive process, based on their ability to meet the goal of improving sustainable water supplies in the western United States.  The projects include:

Main Canal Piping Project and Ponderosa Hydro plant, Swalley Irrigation District: $2,058,935 for this three stage/phase project that would complete piping of ¾ miles of canal, the design and construction of a 0.75 megawatt hydropower plant, and a solar telemetry project that would allow the District to use solar power for a system that monitors, measures and controls water.

OPB’s Think Outloud Discusses Urban Wind Turbines

The OBP News article on urban wind turbines on August 14 (see article on this blog) triggered sufficient interest that Think Outloud decided to do a segment on the topic. They assembled an excellent panel of guests and recieved a fairly large number of comments posted to the Think Outloud Urban Turbines web page.

While conservation is the most effective way to approach energy our growing energy demands,  Distributed Generation, which urban wind turbines would be considered part of, is a proven key component in future energy production.

The comment that really explored the concept of urban wind turbines was the one from guest Alex Wilson of Building Green.  He provided a link to an article on the Building Green website entitled “The Folly of Building-Integrated Wind” that makes for excellent reading on this subject.

While producing energy from urban wind turbines feels like a good idea the reality of the situation is that unless there is some amazing breakthrough it’s a non-starter.

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Urban Turbines
Think Outloud – OPB News – August 20, 2009

Portlanders may have noticed a new addition to the downtown skyline this week when four wind turbines were added to the roof of developer Gerding Edlen’s new Twelve West Building on southwest 12th Avenue. These small-scale turbines (45 feet tall compared to the massive 400-foot turbines in the Columbia River Gorge) will only produce about one percent of the building’s total energy usage. However, the development company also hopes their presence will help promote renewable energy and help Portland stand out in the field. Portland isn’t the only city to try rooftop wind turbines. Boston, New York and Hampton, New Hampshire have all taken an interest in small scale wind power. Some green building experts have raised concerns about the economic and energy efficiency of urban turbines. Zoning laws would still have to change in Portland before people could install turbines on the roofs of their homes.

While the issues with integrating small-scale wind power into an urban landscape center mainly around questions of engineering and structural integrity, large-scale wind farms are still struggling with integrating their turbines with wildlife. And while urban and rural wind may still be an intermittent power source, the Bonneville Power Administration reported wind power generation was at an all time high earlier this month.

Have you considered putting a wind turbine on your home or business? What factors did you weigh in making your decision? Do you live near a rural wind farm? How has that impacted your life?

GUESTS:

Damin Tarlow: Development manager for Gerdling Edlen Development 
Alex Wilson: Founder and executive editor of Building Green 
Andy Kruse: Senior VP of Business Development and Cofounder of Southwest Wind Power
Brent Fenty: Executive Director of Oregon Natural Desert Association
Chris Crowley: President of Columbia Energy Partners

Urban Wind Power: Actual Potential or Wishful Thinking?

There are so many challenges that confront urban wind turbines it’s sometimes difficult to understand why so much money and energy is put into the concept.  Early efforts using standard “propeller prop” wind turbines failed miserably not because the didn’t produce electricity but rather because they were incredibly noisy and transfered vibrations through the buildings that they were attached to. The noise and vibrations drove the occupants nuts.  Efforts at helix-design wind turnbines do show some potential but many questions remain.

It will be fascinating to follow the efforts of Portland and those of San Francisco’s Urban Wind Task Force.

# # #

Urban Turbines Rise Above Portland
By Rob Manning - OPB News - August 14, 2009

A team of Portland architects, engineers, and builders has now erected what’s believed to be the first production-scale set of urban wind turbines in the country.

They won’t supply a whole lot of electricity. But as Rob Manning reports, the turbines’ significance lies in we can learn from them.

The project at Southwest 12th and Washington is certainly a new approach to wind energy.

Yes, companies have been putting big turbines up all over the western countryside for years. But putting the big metal masts on buildings is new territory.

Feed-in Tariffs Gaining Traction in North America

North American feed-in tariff policies take off
by Ben Block – World Watch Institute – August 12, 2009

Clean energy advocates in Europe have long considered the feed-in tariff as an antidote to the industrial world’s fossil fuel dependency. Now, the United States and Canada are starting to catch on as well.

Feed-in tariffs (FITs) guarantee that anyone who generates electricity from a renewable energy source—whether they are a homeowner, small business, or large electric utility—is able to sell that electricity into the grid and receive long-term payments for each kilowatt-hour produced. Payments are set at pre-established rates, often higher than what the market would ordinarily pay, to ensure that developers earn profitable returns.

The FIT is credited for the rapid deployment of wind and solar power among world renewable energy leaders Denmark, Germany, and Spain this past decade. Similar policies have since been adopted by many other countries, leading the FIT to become the most prevalent tool for promoting renewables.

In North America, its adoption has been relatively slow. As public support for renewable energy increases, however, more governments are adopting FIT policies—often as a complement to the widely used Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) that require utilities to purchase minimum amounts of renewable electricity.

Several U.S. states and Canadian provinces began serious consideration of the FIT last year. More than a dozen states, one province, and numerous municipalities have since implemented some form of FIT.

“We’ve reached a tipping point where a feed-in tariff is no longer such an odd idea for America,” said Paul Gipe, the author of several books on wind energy and a FIT advocate. “In fact, it’s the best idea for rapid development of the massive amount of renewable energy that’s needed now.”

Hydro Power Project Considered by Three Sisters Irrigation District

While there are a number of important issues addressed in the article, the energy related paragraph reads:

Water saved through piping would also feed a TSID [Three Sisters Irrigation District] hydroelectric plant at Watson Lake. The energy generated by the hydroelectric scheme will be sold to Central Electric Cooperative and provide about $300,000 annual income for the district.

# # #

Piping project draws fire from neighbors
By Jim Anderson – Nugget News – August 11, 2009

Since 1888, Whychus Creek irrigation water has been running through an open ditch east of Sisters. If current plans come to fruition, it will end up in a buried dual 54-inch pipeline instead.

The small pioneering irrigation ditch was enlarged between 1891 and 1920, and eventually became the Three Sisters Irrigation District (TSID) Main Canal, where it looks like a quiet and picturesque mountain stream flowing across 3.8 miles of sagebrush and pine.

The canal begins at the diversion dam in Whychus Creek and terminates in 80-acre Watson Reservoir, on the east side of Highway 20 near the Sisters/Bend KOA campground.

Because of the sandy soils and cracks in the native lava rock substrate that makes up most the geology of the Sisters countryside, about six cubic feet per second of water – and more through evaporation – is lost to irrigators and fishery projects. That amounts to around 7,500,000 gallons of water going somewhere else between April and October, water that could be used in the efforts to reestablish salmon runs in Whychus Creek.

Water saved through piping would also feed a TSID hydroelectric plant at Watson Lake. The energy generated by the hydroelectric scheme will be sold to Central Electric Cooperative and provide about $300,000 annual income for the district.