Alaska plans to evaluate and explore its geothermal potential
Mount Spurr, Alaska (source: USGS, wikimedia commons)
Parker O'Halloran
14 Jun 2017
Alaska looking to tap into wealth of geothermal resources in volcanic hot-zones.
Alaska state officials have drawn up plans to begin funding the exploration and surveying of Alaska’s largest volcanoes in hopes of utilizing these as a source of geothermal energy that they believe may provide enough energy to power thousands of households. According to some estimates these volcanoes and hot springs could supply up to 25% of the state’s energy needs. Alaska is well known for its seismic activity and many volcanoes.
State officials are ready to begin auctioning off exploration rights, the first being Mount Spurr, a 3.4-km (11,000 ft) tall snowcapped stratovolcano in the Aleutian Volcanic Arc of Alaska. Another volcano considered for exploration is the Augustine stratovolcano, which resides near Anchorage and reaches 1.3 km (4,300 ft) in height. However, many experts have expressed safety concerns in regards to working in such close vicinity to these volatile geothermal sources, despite great the potential gains may be.
Experts believe that if fully exploited across the United States, geothermal resources could supply about a quarter of the entire US populations’ power needs. “High prices and climate change are definitely creating a renaissance in geothermal interest, particularly on a state and local level” – says Karl Gawell, executive director of the Geothermal Energy Association, adding that the projects currently underway are merely the “tip of the iceberg.” “If we really want to go all out for it, we could easily achieve a substantial amount; 20, 25 per cent of US energy needs within a few decades. We’re limited more by public policy than the resource – the resource is enormous.”
Source: The Future of Things
