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Alaska considers bill encouraging geothermal development

Alaska considers bill encouraging geothermal development State Capitol Building, Juneau, Alaska (source: Jay Galving, commons.wikimedia)
Alexander Richter 16 Apr 2021

The Governor of Alaska has introduced legislation that could help encourage geothermal exploration and development in the state of Alaska.

The Governor of the State of Alaska, Gov. Mike Dunleavy has introduced two bills to the Alaskan Legislature that would encourage exploration and development of Alaska’s geothermal energy resources.

With an emphasis on promoting clean energy industry jobs, the state aims to take better advantage of the geothermal resources of the state, so Steve Masterman, director of Alaska’s Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, in his statement to the Alaska Legislature Resources Committee.

The legislation would help align statutes governing geothermal activities with those for oil and gas exploration and development. Part of the proposal is to increase the time available for a company to explore an area and thereby providing means for the companies exploring a larger area than realistically possible under the current statutes.

Aligning terminology for geothermal with that of oil and gas exploration with licenses that could run for five years, rather than currently two years. The area for licensees would increase from 51,200 acres to 100,000. A prospecting license could also then convert to a geothermal lease based on the work commitments completed and acceptable exploration plan.

Two projects were specifically mentioned in this context. We recently reported about the Mount Spurr lease sale, where a geothermal plant could supply electricity to a specific electric grid, while the other project – Pilgrim Hot Springs, could provide electricity to Nome and a proposed graphite mine.

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Source: Petroleum News

 

Source: Petroleum News