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OIT puts focus on geopower facility
November 1, 2006
By STEVE KADEL
H&N Staff Writer
Oregon Institute of Technology hopes to build a $5-million geothermal power plant providing up to 100 percent of campus electricity needs, saving $500,000 annually.
It also is proposing geothermally powered greenhouses and aquaculture ponds that companies could use to test their products before opening full-scale operations in Klamath Falls.
Those were among the projects outlined Tuesday during a round table meeting of three dozen local business and political leaders. John Lund, director of OIT's Geo-Heat Center, said fundraising is under way to turn the ideas into reality.
The geothermal power plant, a high-temperature facility, would use water and steam from a proposed 5,000- to 6,000-foot deep geothermal well drilled on a fault on the campus.
A low-temperature plant for $800,000 also is being proposed, and could provide one-fourth of the institute's electricity. It would be the first geothermal power plant in Oregon, serving as a demonstration site and an educational facility.
Tom Chester, director of OIT's Oregon Renewable Energy Center, said the projects are a natural fit with the school's mission.
“Our forte is application of renewable resource technology,” he said.
The greenhouse and aquaculture facilities, both of which cost $300,000, would be used in conjunction with the Klamath-Lake County Economic Development Association to help attract new companies and add jobs in the region.
“We want to seize the opportunity to make renewable energy happen,” Chester said.
He noted that geothermal greenhouses at New Mexico State University resulted in seven spinoff industries locating in Las Cruces, N. M.
“We could become a showcase for Oregon, a model for the state,” Lund said. OIT president Martha Anne Dow said Sen. Gordon Smith and Rep. Greg Walden, both of whom recently visited the campus, have promised to seek funding for the projects.
“These things would not only provide a return on investment, but would also be learning opportunities for our students,” Dow said. “They would fulfill OIT's needs as well as provide economic development opportunities for the community.”
By STEVE KADEL
H&N Staff Writer
Oregon Institute of Technology hopes to build a $5-million geothermal power plant providing up to 100 percent of campus electricity needs, saving $500,000 annually.
It also is proposing geothermally powered greenhouses and aquaculture ponds that companies could use to test their products before opening full-scale operations in Klamath Falls.
Those were among the projects outlined Tuesday during a round table meeting of three dozen local business and political leaders. John Lund, director of OIT's Geo-Heat Center, said fundraising is under way to turn the ideas into reality.
The geothermal power plant, a high-temperature facility, would use water and steam from a proposed 5,000- to 6,000-foot deep geothermal well drilled on a fault on the campus.
A low-temperature plant for $800,000 also is being proposed, and could provide one-fourth of the institute's electricity. It would be the first geothermal power plant in Oregon, serving as a demonstration site and an educational facility.
Tom Chester, director of OIT's Oregon Renewable Energy Center, said the projects are a natural fit with the school's mission.
“Our forte is application of renewable resource technology,” he said.
The greenhouse and aquaculture facilities, both of which cost $300,000, would be used in conjunction with the Klamath-Lake County Economic Development Association to help attract new companies and add jobs in the region.
“We want to seize the opportunity to make renewable energy happen,” Chester said.
He noted that geothermal greenhouses at New Mexico State University resulted in seven spinoff industries locating in Las Cruces, N. M.
“We could become a showcase for Oregon, a model for the state,” Lund said. OIT president Martha Anne Dow said Sen. Gordon Smith and Rep. Greg Walden, both of whom recently visited the campus, have promised to seek funding for the projects.
“These things would not only provide a return on investment, but would also be learning opportunities for our students,” Dow said. “They would fulfill OIT's needs as well as provide economic development opportunities for the community.”
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