Legislature(2019 - 2020)BUTROVICH 205
02/21/2020 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB171 | |
| SB150 | |
| SB161 | |
| SB155 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 171 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 161 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 150 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 155 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 161-GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES
4:39:18 PM
CHAIR MICCICHE announced that the next order of business would
be SENATE BILL NO. 161, "An Act relating to geothermal
resources; relating to the definition of 'geothermal resources';
and providing for an effective date."
He noted that the committee first heard the bill on February 10.
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has responded
to committee questions and presented a map with the known
statewide geothermal resources and their proximity to population
centers. The committee also requested a presentation on
geothermal resources in Alaska.
4:40:07 PM
SARA LONGAN, Deputy Commissioner, Alaska Department of Natural
Resources, Anchorage, Alaska, thanked the committee for inviting
the department to again discuss SB 161 on geothermal resources.
4:40:50 PM
At ease.
4:44:08 PM
CHAIR MICCICHE called the committee back to order.
MS. LONGAN discussed the following from slide 2 from the DNR
presentation on geothermal resources, Overview, and slide 3,
AGILE Act:
• Slide 2: Overview
o AGILE Act
o Fundamentals of geothermal systems
o Purpose of this bill
o DNR geothermal leasing history
o Sectional summary
o Analysis of selected sections & responses to
questions
• Slide 3: AGILE Act
o Senator Murkowski's Advanced Geothermal
Innovation Leadership Act of 2019 (AGILE Act)
o Authorizes grants and incentives
o Establish a repository for geothermal drill data
o Supports research into Enhanced Geothermal
Systems
o Supports heat pump improvements
o Defines geothermal energy as a renewable energy
source
o Encourages co-production of geothermal with
hydrocarbons and critical minerals
o Improves federal permit coordination
STEVEN MASTERMAN, Director, Division of Geological and
Geophysical Surveys, Alaska Department of Natural Resources,
Fairbanks, Alaska, reviewed the parameters of a geothermal
system on slide 4, Fundamental Ingredients of Useable Geothermal
Energy:
• Elevated geothermal gradient
• Porosity and permeability for the migration of fluids
• Surface access
• Sufficiently large thermal system
• Customers for energy
4:46:39 PM
MR. MASTERMAN discussed slide 5, Heat Flow in Alaska. He
referenced a map and said the illustration provides a broad view
of the amount of energy coming to the earth's surface across
Alaska. He detailed that the red areas on the map indicate more
energy and green areas have less energy. For example, the North
Slope has an area of low heat coming to the earth's surface
where sediments are thick and insulate the surface from heat
beneath. Along the Aleutians and the Alaska Peninsula where
there is a lot of volcanic activity, there's higher heat flow.
MR. MASTERMAN displayed slide 6, North Slope Geothermal
Gradient. He referenced a map and said the illustration shows
geothermal gradients with the degree centigrade per 100 meters
of depth. He noted that the temperature data came from the
bottom of bore holes drilled into North Slope oil and gas fields
by producers. The temperature data allowed the division to
construct maps that show the relative amount of heat that is
coming out of the earth and the rate at which the temperature
increases when going into the earth.
MR. MASTERMAN detailed that the illustration shows most of the
gradients are 3 to 4 degrees centigrade per 100 meters. Going
down 1,000 meters shows the temperature increases by 30 to 50
degrees centigrade. He added that the map provides a rough
estimate of what sufficient temperature data could allow across
the state.
He said Chair Micciche asked in the previous hearing where there
may be undiscovered thermal energy sources. He conceded that the
division does not have the level of information as the North
Slope bore hole temperatures to provide detailed contours across
the rest of the state.
4:48:58 PM
MR. MASTERMAN TURNED TO slide 7, Geothermal Gradients. He
explained that the graph shows examples of geothermal gradients.
The colored band in the graph is a typical geothermal gradient
for Alaska that shows subterranean temperature increases. For
example, the North Slope reaches a temperature of 100 degrees
centigrade at 10,000 feet or 3 kilometers depth.
He pointed out that the graph shows two points of reference, one
of the Chena Hot Springs geothermal system where the temperature
is about 60 degrees centigrade on the surface and about 80
degrees centigrade where the hot water is entering the drill
holes for power production. The second point is the Makushin
system where the temperature is almost 200 degrees centigrade.
MR. MASTERMAN explained that the temperature of a geothermal
system is important for the amount of energy production. Chena
Hot Springs is a cooler system with production of hundreds of
kilowatts of energy. The Makushin system has a higher
temperature system at an energy magnitude of tens of megawatts
of electrical production.
MR. MASTERMAN discussed the following from slide 8, Geothermal
Resource Quality:
• Generation capacity per unit cost depends on several
geologic and economic factors:
o Temperature (hotter is better)
o Flow rate (higher flow rates are better)
o Reservoir Framework (uniform porosity better than
fractures)
o Recharge (partially natural better than all
artificial)
o Depth (shallower is less expensive, thus better)
o Location, location (relative to population,
transmission system, development costs, etc.)
4:52:32 PM
MR. MASTERMAN displayed slide 9, Geothermal Systems. He said the
map on the slide shows the distribution of all known hot springs
across the state as well as the distribution of the active
volcanoes in the state.
He pointed out there is a belt of hot springs across the
interior of the state that are generally associated with cooling
granite bodies. He detailed that hot water in the granite bodies
is in fractures. Accessing hot water requires intersecting the
fractures. The granite bodies are older systems that are cooler
and don't have as high temperature water or productive volumes
as the volcano related system that are present along the Alaska
Peninsula and in the Aleutians.
He pointed out that there are more high temperature systems
along the Aleutians than in the granite related systems. The
volcano related systems have magma close to the surface which is
a hotter material that can generate more and hotter volumes of
hot water.
MR. MASTERMAN displayed slide 10, Alaska's Geothermal Resources
Fairbanks Region:
• Chena
o 80 degrees Celsius at 260 meters
o Reservoir approximately 130 to 145 degrees Celsius
He said slide 10 shows where the hot springs are in relation to
Fairbanks. Chena Hot Springs is close and there are a couple of
others that are fairly close to population centers. The Circle
Hot Springs northeast of Fairbanks is close to Central, Manly
Hot Springs is close to Manly. Those systems are similar in
temperature to Chena Hot Springs with slightly higher water
flows that may be able to produce slightly larger quantities of
electricity. The slide also shows projected reservoir
temperature that is a theoretical value based on the
geochemistry of the water that is coming to the surface. For
example, the evidence for Chena Hot Springs suggests that
drilling deep enough will intersect waters that are somewhere
between 130 and 145 degrees Celsius, temperatures that will
allow for more power generation.
MR. MASTERMAN detailed that the Chena Hot Springs has a 400-
kilowatt capacity. In a 2007 report, they indicated that the
cost of producing power went from $0.30 per kilowatt hour to
$0.05 per kilowatt hour with production from the geothermal
system.
4:55:43 PM
MR. MASTERMAN discussed slide 11, Alaska's Geothermal Resources
Seward Peninsula.
• Pilgrim
o 92 degrees Celsius at 120 meters
o Reservoir approximately 150 degrees Celsius
He said Pilgrim Hot Spring is the most interesting hot spring on
the Seward Peninsula. It has a theoretical power capacity of 4
megawatts of electrical power or about 50 megawatts if using the
energy as heat. He noted that geology will play an essential
role in developing the Pilgrim system because the hot fluids are
coming out of the bedrock and getting into the sands and gravel,
then migrating laterally and coming up to the surface. He noted
that drilling through the sand and gravel right under the hot
springs accesses cooler rock underneath. The system's hot water
source is not known, but that's where geology comes into play.
The system could provide energy to Nome or Graphite One's
potential mine towards Teller.
MR. MASTERMAN displayed slide 12, Alaska's Geothermal Resources
Alaska Peninsula:
• Makushin 190 degrees Celsius at 590 meters.
He explained that the Makushin system is on the same island as
Dutch Harbor and Unalaska. The system could produce power for
the communities' fish processing facilities. There is a group
investigating system development with scenarios calling for
modular generation in 6 megawatt increments with 18 or 24
megawatt plants that could produce power as low as $0.14 per
kilowatt hour, a cost that is competitive with the communities'
current electrical production from diesel fuel.
MR. MASTERMAN noted that there are other systems in the area,
including one in Akutan that could also generate power for their
fish processing facilities. Further to the northeast there are
systems at False Pass, Cold Bay, and King Cove.
4:58:29 PM
MR. MASTERMAN turned to slide 13, Alaska's Geothermal Resources
Southeast Region:
• Estimated reservoirs:
o Goddard - 140 degrees Celsius
o Baranof - 95 degrees Celsius
o Bailey Bay - 150 degrees Celsius
o Tenakee - 65-100 degrees Celsius
He said there are a number of hot springs in Southeast Alaska
that are of potential interest. Two that are most well situated
are the ones investigated for producing power near Sitka, the
Goddard and Baranof hot springs. The granite-related systems are
fracture based and nonvolcanic. The systems along the Aleutians
have an added advantage of being in volcanic rocks that are
sometimes quite a lot more porous and permeable and can make
better reservoirs and produce higher volumes of water for more
power.
MR. MASTERMAN reviewed slide 14, Key Points:
• Geothermal heat, where technically and economically
accessible, is an excellent form of sustainable energy.
• Hydrothermal systems are the most common form of energy
extraction from geothermal heat.
• Complex geologic parameters necessary for a viable
geothermal resource, all present at one location, is rare.
• Alaska contains several potential geothermal resources.
• New technologies that will help expand geothermal
development into less favorable geology are on the horizon.
5:01:42 PM
CHAIR MICCICHE asked the presenters to finish the presentation
at the next committee meeting, due to time constraints.
MS. LONGAN replied the department will accommodate the
committee's schedule.
[SB 161 was held in committee.]