Hope for geothermal power at Pilgrim Hot Springs, Alaska
Nome Docks (Source: CC, Photo by Chris Lott; Flickr)
Francisco Rojas
6 Nov 2014
Despite the difficulty of exploitation, Pilgrim Hot Springs, near Nome in Alaska could produce up to 2 MW of energy thanks to the latent geothermal power in the area.
More news and updates come from local news source from Pilgrim Hot Springs. The latest info states that up to 2 MW of power could be generated in an area that is heavily dependant on fossil fuel to supply the electricity demand. Geothermal is also a viable way to provide heating to the nearby town of Nome.
The following is the statement done from the alaskan news source:
“The springs, 37 miles outside of Nome, have been poked and prodded since October 2013 as engineers search for the ever-elusive “upflow zone”: an optimal combination of high temperatures and water volume needed to produce 2 megawatts of electricity.
Gwen Holdmann, director of ACEP, said the results from a September flow test at the spring “exceeded expectations.”
“It can produce enough hot water to do on-site power generation, greenhouses, anything that you might want to do in terms of on-site development,” said Holdmann.
Developers and residents of Nome who hope the site might eventually export power to the community itself, however, will have to wait.
Holdmann said a geothermal source hot enough — and powerful enough — to supply electricity to Nome may exist. But more tests will be needed to prove it.
“Because this hole isn’t located directly over the source of the hot water,” she said. “It doesn’t confirm that there’s adequate production potential for export to Nome. It doesn’t preclude that, but it doesn’t confirm that.”
This doesn’t render the geothermal project a bust, however. Far from it, according to Holdmann. Besides confirming a viable power source for the immediate surroundings, the latest data also point to another important piece of the puzzle: the hot springs’ source.”
Source: Alaska Dispatch News
