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Lakeview considers expanding use of system
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| H&N photo by Lee Juillerat Lakeview Town Manager Ray Simms checks out the equipment at the existing geothermal center in Lakeview. The town is looking at ways to tap unused hot water to generate power. |
August 5, 2007
LAKEVIEW — Ray Simms isn’t looking for trouble, but he hopes he can successfully navigate the Town of Lakeview into more hot water.
Simms, Lakeview’s town manager, is working with town engineer Darryl Anderson and the Town Council to expand Lakeview’s use of geothermal water. Simms recently received the go-ahead for a detailed engineering analysis that could allow the town to tap unused hot water to generate power.
“Geothermal is in my opinion the ultimate renewable energy system. It’s there 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” Simms says, comparing it to solar and wind energy.
Some businesses and residences north of Lakeview have used geothermal heat for decades, but its use has been limited. Over the past two years, water heated by heat exchangers at a geothermal well on Rabbit Hill Road has been piped to the nearly Warner Creek Correctional Facility, a state prison.
“We’ve got a geothermal well that is vastly undeveloped. We have a cold water source that is not used at all,” Simms said, noting the town is using only 20 to 25 percent of its existing system. “We can generate more electricity than the prison requires.”
Possibilities
Depending on results of the engineering analysis, the town could use that untapped hot water for a to-be developed biomass plant and other uses.
“The Surprise Valley Electrification Corp. lines are right overhead. It’s 200 yards to the Pacific Power lines,” Simms said of the existing well. “We have all the infrastructure we need. We don’t have to drill wells. There’s no risk as far as finding the resource. The challenge is determining how much resource we have at the top-end.”
Simms said the viability of using geothermally heated water, which is warmed through heat exchangers, has been proven at the prison. He said Department of Corrections data from the Warner Creek prison shows an estimated saving of $180,000 over other heating systems during its first year of operation.
Earlier this year, when the geothermal operation was shut down for repairs and upgrades, Simms said it cost the DOC about $1,000 a day for propane compared to $3,500 to $4,200 a month for the geothermally heated water.
Installing a system
Simms estimates it will cost $800,000 to $900,000 to install 9,200 feet of six-inch line to the biomass plant and install the geothermal system. Along with determining the availability of hot water, the study will evaluate the length of a contract that would ensure the town recovers its investment costs.
Long term
In the longer-term, Simms said another study could determine the quantity, temperature and gallons per minute of geothermal water at the Barry Ranch well south of town. A network of geothermal wells and heat exchangers could be used to heat buildings in the town’s industrial park and the Lake District Hospital, which has tentative plans to upgrade its heating system and is studying a possible 20,000 square-foot expansion.
“Once we know the quantity of the resource, we can start looking at the possibilities,” Simms said.
He’s optimistic Lakeview can use its hot water to benefit the town and its residents and businesses.
“I’m looking forward,” Simms said, “to seeing Lakeview being the first municipality to generate electricity from geothermal resources.”
- By Lee Juillerat
LAKEVIEW — Ray Simms isn’t looking for trouble, but he hopes he can successfully navigate the Town of Lakeview into more hot water.
Simms, Lakeview’s town manager, is working with town engineer Darryl Anderson and the Town Council to expand Lakeview’s use of geothermal water. Simms recently received the go-ahead for a detailed engineering analysis that could allow the town to tap unused hot water to generate power.
“Geothermal is in my opinion the ultimate renewable energy system. It’s there 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” Simms says, comparing it to solar and wind energy.
Some businesses and residences north of Lakeview have used geothermal heat for decades, but its use has been limited. Over the past two years, water heated by heat exchangers at a geothermal well on Rabbit Hill Road has been piped to the nearly Warner Creek Correctional Facility, a state prison.
“We’ve got a geothermal well that is vastly undeveloped. We have a cold water source that is not used at all,” Simms said, noting the town is using only 20 to 25 percent of its existing system. “We can generate more electricity than the prison requires.”
Possibilities
Depending on results of the engineering analysis, the town could use that untapped hot water for a to-be developed biomass plant and other uses.
“The Surprise Valley Electrification Corp. lines are right overhead. It’s 200 yards to the Pacific Power lines,” Simms said of the existing well. “We have all the infrastructure we need. We don’t have to drill wells. There’s no risk as far as finding the resource. The challenge is determining how much resource we have at the top-end.”
Simms said the viability of using geothermally heated water, which is warmed through heat exchangers, has been proven at the prison. He said Department of Corrections data from the Warner Creek prison shows an estimated saving of $180,000 over other heating systems during its first year of operation.
Earlier this year, when the geothermal operation was shut down for repairs and upgrades, Simms said it cost the DOC about $1,000 a day for propane compared to $3,500 to $4,200 a month for the geothermally heated water.
Installing a system
Simms estimates it will cost $800,000 to $900,000 to install 9,200 feet of six-inch line to the biomass plant and install the geothermal system. Along with determining the availability of hot water, the study will evaluate the length of a contract that would ensure the town recovers its investment costs.
Long term
In the longer-term, Simms said another study could determine the quantity, temperature and gallons per minute of geothermal water at the Barry Ranch well south of town. A network of geothermal wells and heat exchangers could be used to heat buildings in the town’s industrial park and the Lake District Hospital, which has tentative plans to upgrade its heating system and is studying a possible 20,000 square-foot expansion.
“Once we know the quantity of the resource, we can start looking at the possibilities,” Simms said.
He’s optimistic Lakeview can use its hot water to benefit the town and its residents and businesses.
“I’m looking forward,” Simms said, “to seeing Lakeview being the first municipality to generate electricity from geothermal resources.”
- By Lee Juillerat
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