City of Unalaska in discussions on acquiring access to potential geothermal resource

Alexander Richter 28 Oct 2009

Having already written about this project before, a recent news item talks now about that “the city (of Unalaska) is trying a new tactic to get the geothermal project moving forward. City Manager Chris Hladick is going to try negotiating with land owner Jack Wood again for access to the proven geothermal fluids in Makushin Valley. Drilling in the 1980s showed the presence of a geothermal resource on Wood’s land that could potentially be used to generate electricity. The city’s negotiations with Wood stalled late last year when they could not come to agreement on how much the city would pay for the rights to access the fluids. Now, Hladick says they are negotiating to buy the fluids outright and perhaps even the 7,000 acres of land.

“It’s all risky. Even if you sign an agreement, it’s all risky,” Hladick said. “The idea would be that the price would be cheaper now without knowing if the resource is viable. I mean, we know that there’s a resource there, but how viable is it? And so we’ll see what that might cost.”

The city is also still negotiating with the Aleut Corporation for access to fluids on Ounalashka Corporation lands. Hladick said they’re trying to get a deal in place with either of the geothermal fluid owners by February so they can put a bid out for companies that would conduct the exploratory drilling.

Hladick said the city is trying to plan for the future in other ways as well. Last week he and assistant city manager John Fulton attended the International Fisheries Symposium in Anchorage, where they learned about what changes might result from the melting of the Arctic sea ice.”

Source: KUCB News