Geothermal Projects Heating Up In Oregon

Hydroelectric power has long been the renewable energy of choice in Oregon, but geothermal projects are starting to pop up in our neighbor to the north.

According to the San Jose Mercury News:

"Davenport Power is doing exploratory drilling at the Newberry Crater outside of Bend and has a contract with California's Pacific Gas & Electric to sell 60 and 120 megawatts of geothermal power from the proposed project. The first phase of the project is scheduled to begin operating in late 2009.

In eastern Oregon, U.S. Geothermal, based in Boise, Idaho, has begun drilling at the Neal Hot Springs project, where it may go as deep as 3,500 feet into the ground looking for a geothermal reservoir.

And in southern Oregon, geothermal power is positively bubbling.
Raser Technologies, based in Utah, has plans to construct a geothermal plant in Klamath Falls and has more land in the area leased for potential geothermal development."

The geothermal rush is being driven by Oregon's RPS, tax breaks and new technology.

Geothermal sites the new hot spots for Oregon power [San Jose Mercury News]