Reported locally, “Naknek Electric Association was awarded US$12.4 million for geothermal development from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The award was part of more than $15 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for development of geothermal fields and research into new geothermal technologies for three Alaska-based entities.

“Alaska already leads the nation in producing electricity from the lowest-temperature geothermal waters. However, our efforts to use this abundant energy source have barely broken the surface of potential energy production,” Begich said. “The Department of Energy is right to look to our state when developing new clean energy technologies. Alaskans have as much to gain from the development of affordable and clean energy technology as anywhere in the United States.”

Naknek Electric Association’s award is for generation of up to 25 megawatts of geothermal power using enhanced geothermal techniques to supply the electricity needs of three local communities.

The other awards include $4.6 million to the University of Alaska Fairbanks to test a combination of exploration techniques to assess the geothermal resource at Pilgrim Hot Springs; and $2.1 million to Trabits Group, LLC to develop an improved cement for high temperature geothermal wells, with work to be conducted in Wasilla, Fairbanks, Arbuckle, Calif., and Reno, Nev”

Source: The Bristol Bay Times

2 Comments

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   brandonPosted Mar 18th 2010 5:49 am

   sounds great, who is going to build the 425 miles of powerlines?
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   lxrichterPosted Mar 20th 2010 9:58 am

   good question. Let me know if you know. Transmission is a big issue often forgotten as an important element in development … at least by the general public. Developers are generally very aware of it as it often defines project success or even feasibility.
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