Our Northwest Energy

NWPR Energy Series Part 4: Geothermal

 

 

(Click on this image to go to a comprehensive USDOE geothermal map of Washington State. )

Listen to the audio file of this interview here .

Intro: In the fourth and final “Our Northwest Energy” interview between Dave Sjoding and correspondent, Mary Hawkins, a discussion of three types of geothermal energy production.

Hawkins: Geothermal energy is heating buildings, greenhouses, and homes across the Northwest and there will soon be new geothermal power generation in the Cascades.

Geothermal doesn’t just comprise pockets of super hot water. We can harness warm water and have learned how to optimize shallow, underground water systems for heat and cooling. Dave Sjoding describes how ground source pumping works:

Sjoding: The Lake Washington School District takes its ball field and puts piping in the ground – It takes just the normal ground temperature, pulls the heat out of it and uses it to heat the high school.

The savings are significant. I believe the Lake Washington School District’s high school – about 66 thousand a year is the last figure I saw in terms of savings that they have. Well, that starts getting you toward the salary of a teacher.

Hawkins: Say, I lived in the Bellingham area and I wanted to install geothermal for my home? How big of a yard would I need?

Sjoding: You need more on the mansion scale of home before this really starts to get cost-effective.

Hawkins: So, I couldn't do it in my little cottage?

Sjoding: [It’s] not a little cottage thing. If you had a well, then it might start to get a little bit cheaper. And you could downscale a little bit in terms of the size of the building.

Hawkins: Groundsource geothermal applications like the one at Lake Washington work best west of the Cascades where there is more ground moisture.

[Well groundsource systems – where you cycle from your underground water source – are very practical in many parts of central and eastern Washington.  They rely on naturally cool water – water that remains at nearly the same temperature year-round.]

Much of the Columbia Basin, though, sits over low temperature geothermal. In Ephrata, for example, the average tap water comes out at 85 degrees.  This warm water can be appropriated for any number of heating and energy projects.  It’s great for small-scale operations where you desire a warm, humid climate.

Sjoding: The Columbia Basin Area – just normal well water coming out of the ground - we have a fairly significant low temperature geothermal resource. And that’s available for a wide variety of uses. We have an alligator farm in Idaho. They’re using the geothermal to keep the alligators at the proper temperature. Greenhouses are another situation where you can use that kind of geothermal heat.

Hawkins: High temperature geothermal, is prevalent in the Cascade Mountains. Two areas with potential for power generation are near Mount Baker in the North Cascades and in the Gifford Pinchot (pinch-oh) National Forest near Mount Saint Helens. According to Sjoding, there are even places near the Columbia River where geothermal is very close to the surface.

In some places, large-scale geothermal exploration has ruined geysers and dried up energy reserves. But according to Dave Sjoding, we’ve learned to manage & preserve geothermal systems.

Sjoding: The classic one in the U.S.  is The Geysers in Northern California where they taxed the system and they realized they had to recharge those aquifers with water – get the water back down into the hot zone and so there was a learning curve the U.S. has gone through – worldwide we’ve gone through - to manage the geothermal resource properly. Actually, “The Geysers” has been brought back to a fuller power production.

Hawkins: For geothermal maps of the west, information on California’s “The Geysers” and information about how low temperature and groundsource geothermal works, go to Our Northwest at NWPR dot org. For NWPR, I’m Mary Hawkins.

Listen to the audio file here: Listen to the interview here. .

Links:

DOE Geothermal Information

The Geysers

Washington's Geothermal Energies Program

WSU's Geothermal page

Map of Washington State's Geothermal Systems  (slow to download)

Landmark PEIS Opens the Door for Western Geothermal Exploration

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the USDA Forest Service (FS) released a joint Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) in October which impacts millions of acres of land in 11 Western states and Alaska.

A whopping 530 millions acres of land in the west have geothermal potential. Of that land, around 248 million acres are owned by BLM and NFS and were therefore considered in the study.

The recommendations included putting 92 million acres into consideration for geothermal leasing. 155 million acres were deemed inappropriate for a number of reasons. Among the areas closed to leasing are: wilderness areas, national recreation areas, national parks, fish hatcheries, Indian trust or restricted lands, national monuments, national conservation areas, national historic or scenic areas. Among the lands open to leasing, the study further sought places within a certain proximity to power transmission lines.

As of January, 2005, 194 lease applications were submitted. 34 were still pending earlier this year. In Oregon, there were applications for 4 sites in the Mount Hood National Forest, and one in the Williamette National Forest. In Washington, 4 were submitted for the Mt. Baker National Forest.

Links:

The BLM Geothermal Information Page

An Executive Summary of the PEIS

Dialogue Discusses Alternative Energy

Dialogue's Joan Cartan-Hansen discusses the benefits and challenges of alternative energy sources, and the changes state and local governments can make to encourage growth in renewable energy. Cartan-Hansen is joined by Bill Rogers, Associate Lab Director for Energy and Environment Science & Technology at Idaho National Laboratory and John Gardner, Associate Vice President of Energy Research Policy and Sustainability at Boise State University. Cartan-Hansen and guests focus on what residents can do to promote and use alternative energy.

Alternative Energy, from Dialogue, is available online.

Geothermal Energy Production

NWPR Energy Series Part Three: Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Listen to the audio file of this interview here .

Host Intro: Hydrogen fuel cells are soon coming to a car near you. In today’s “Our Northwest” energy discussion, correspondent Mary Hawkins and energy expert Dave Sjoding* talk about the myths and realities of hydrogen fuel and energy expert Dave Sjoding* talk about the myths and realities of hydrogen fuel and its future.

(Source: US DOE, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and Green Jobs )

Hawkins: Most of us link the idea of hydrogen fuel with the Hindenburg disaster – a ball of flame consuming a very large bullet-shaped airship in well under a minute. According to our northwest energy expert, Dave Sjoding, hydrogen got a bum rap in the history books…

Sjoding: [What people don’t realize] when they went back and did the chemistry on the Hindenburg is it was painted; they painted the Hindenburg fabric on the outside, and it was with a paint that was chemically very close to rocket fuel.

Hawkins: Dave thinks hydrogen is actually safer than gasoline. Gasoline will pool under a car, for instance, and if a fire should occur -  the fuel, instead of evaporating, will burn where it stands. The kind of hydrogen tanks that will be used to fuel cars in the near future, will be much safer…

Sjoding: Hydrogen is lighter than air, so it tends to jut upward. If you fire a bullet at one of these gas tanks and penetrate it, that escaping gas (hydrogen) goes upwards because it is so light and it disperses very fast.

Hawkins: Hydrogen is not only safe, but hydrogen fuel cells are getting more and more efficient, and the energy they produce is incredibly clean.

So, how do they work, exactly?  Fuel cells are constantly recharging batteries…. What’s a battery…?  A battery is essentially a can full of chemicals that produces electrons. A hydrogen fuel cell converts the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in that process it produces electricity.

Hybrid vehicles have duel systems which run on batteries and gasoline. In a fuel cell vehicle the propulsion is all electric, so these cars have way fewer moving parts and are very efficient.

Dave has tracked the evolution of the fuel cell vehicle. Early versions didn’t deal with cold climates and weren’t efficient. Now, they can traverse miles in the cold without refueling…

Sjoding: Say, if we were up in Alaska, - second generation – they’ve done the Al Can highway in the middle of winter – started right up at minus 22 degrees in Fairbanks,  so we’ve really come a long ways from first generation to second generation. First generation we were struggling with having to fill up a lot. Well now, we’re at – on average, 250 miles plus per fill up and we have at least one version that has gone a full 300 miles.

Hawkins: Hydrogen fuel stations are slated to appear around 2015. The plan is to first place them in highly-populated cities and branch out from there. Seattle is eighth on the hydrogen fuel station list. But, with efficient technology and home fueling options, you may be able to “gas-up” from your home hydrogen fuel station.

Sjoding: Hydrogen production at the home in some European countries, the United Kingdom would be an example, of where they are developing an integrated package. You essentially can fuel at your own home. Few years out, but there are definitely demonstrations in the works.

Hawkins: For more information about hydrogen fuel, fuel cell technology and emerging automobile designs, go to Our Northwest, online now at n-w-p-r dot org.

http://nwpublicmedia.typepad.com/our_northwest/

http://nwpublicmedia.typepad.com/our_organic_northwest/mary-hawkins.html

http://nwpublicmedia.typepad.com/our_northwest/dave-sjoding-our-energy-expert.html

http://www.nlhs.com/hindenburg.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSuR2IgnimA&feature=related

http://www.fuelcells.org/hydrogen/basics.html

http://www.howstuffworks.com/fuel-cell.htm

http://milepost.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=266&Itemid=311

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1033683/Fill-car--home-hydrogen-fuel-station.html

http://www.nwpr.org/

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/battery.htm

Our Green Lifestyle: A Matter of Urgency

By: Emily Easley

"Earth" photo provided by www.dayton.hq.nasa.gov

In recent years, Americans have morphed from citizens to consumers. The idea that money will buy our happiness is a common one. But with the earth’s current state, consumers must consider everything they buy, and how it will affect our planet. 

With hopes of a green world in the minds of most Americans, energy conservation is not only a trend, but also a necessity. Our peaceful abodes have turned into energy guzzling nightmares. 

Electric cars, solar panels, wind power and biofuels are the energy of the future. Many home owners are incorporating innovative energy conservation methods to renovate their homes. 

Our Green Lifestyle: Recycling

By: Emily Easley

"Bicycle Chair" photo provided by www.bikefurniture.com

Many Americans are evolving from light green to dark green by incorporating innovative recycling ideas into their lifestyles.  People are doing everything from using plastic bags to make rugs to using old bicycles to make lawn chairs.