Oregon: Volcano Power
November 2nd, 2012Via: Gizmag:
Having successfully negotiated the challenging regulatory slopes of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Department of Energy, and a host of Oregon state agencies, the Newberry Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) demonstration project is in the process of creating a new geothermal reservoir in central Oregon. The core of the new reservoir is a two mile (3.2 km) deep well drilled about four miles (6.3 km) from the center of Newberry Volcano. The rock surrounding the wellbore reaches temperatures in the order of 600° F (315° C), and is nearly impermeable to water. That, however, is about to change.
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I live about ten miles from the Newberry Caldera and am watching the progress there with interest. The project sounds like it has great potential. But, there are lava flows all over the place here and tunnels and lava tubes that reach all the way down to the valley where people live. If they mistakenly allow hot water and steam to flow into these, will there be steam coming out the sides of hills? Could it raise the temperature of the rivers and kill the trout? And, why, all of a sudden, am I noticing 1.8 earthquakes at the Newberry Caldera? Just wonderin’….