American Samoa announces geothermal test drilling for 2014
Beach scenery in American Samoa (source: flickr/ YXO, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
24 Jun 2013
The U.S. territory of American Samoa in the Pacific is planning to start test drilling of geothermal exploration wells next year with federal funding. The drilling is to establish if the territory has geothermal power generation potential.
In local news, the American Samoa Renewable Energy Committee reports that this U.S. territory in the South Pacific, Northeast of the coast of New Zealand will begin drilling for geothermal energy next year.
This project is part of a $2.3 million project to reduce the island state’s dependence on fossil fuels for electricity generation, so the head of the territory’s energy office.
The American Samoa Renewable Energy Committee, so its directory Timothy Jones, agreed to an action plan that aims to set ambitious goals toward energy independence. The plan includes exploring geothermal energy as an option for Tutuila, the territory’s main island.
It is expected that the first three test wells with a depth of 6,000 feet (or around 1,800 meters) will be drilled next year. It is then planned to seek federal funding from the U.S. for further work.
Source: Seattle PI
