Ormat plans new drilling attempt at Mount Spurr project in Alaska in 2014

Mount Spurr, Alaska (source: USGS, wikimedia commons)

Alexander Richter 13 May 2013

At a recent meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, a representative of Ormat Technologies confirmed that the company continues its Mount Spurr geothermal project in a remote part of the State of Alaska.

Tests of drilling done in the summer of 2011was not successful, as reported here previously, but Ormat expects to drill again in 2014 and will be doing some field work this year to locate well sites for the next phase of drilling.

The project is located at Mount Spurr, a volcano about 60 kilometers west of a natural gas fired power station at Beluga on the west side of Cook Inlet. The size of the planned plant would be utility size and connect via a new transmission line to Beluga and the Alaska Railbelt electricity grid.

To be economically feasible, Ormat Technology states the need for a 50 MW power plant.

“Ormat has leased 36,000 acres of state land on the southern flanks of Mount Spurr and began exploration of its acreage in 2009 by conducting various forms of aerial survey, coupled with gravity and electro-magnetic measurements, seeking evidence of hot water and suitable geologic structures that might justify focused exploration of specific prospects.”

Earlier drilling of test wells to a depth of 1,000 feet were conducted in 2010, and deep wells were drilled up to a depth of 4,000 feet in 2011. The test results only showed temperatures of 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius). Now the company plans to drill closer to the volcano’s active crater.

So far, Ormat says it has spent $3 million on the project in addition to $3.5 million it paid for the geothermal lease to the State of Alaska. There also has been some State funding for the project.

Source: Anchorage Daily News