HB 135-GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES  1:19:21 PM CHAIR PATKOTAK announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 135, "An Act relating to geothermal resources; relating to the definition of 'geothermal resources'; and providing for an effective date." 1:20:10 PM HAILEY PAINE, Deputy Director, Division of Oil and Gas (DOG), Department of Natural Resources (DNR), said DOG has sent an explanation of preferential rights to committee members. 1:21:02 PM STEVE MASTERMAN, Director, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), Department of Natural Resources, described pictures of geothermal power plants from around the world ranging in size from 10 megawatts to 303 megawatts. He described the Hellishei?i Power Station, in Iceland, as the second-largest in the world. He said that there are two large geothermal fields in the U.S., both in California; the Salton Sea Geothermal Field in southern California has 10 power plants that have a cumulative capacity of 340 megawatts, and the Geysers Geothermal Field in northern California has 18 power plants that cumulatively generate 900 megawatts of power. He said that if Pilgrim Hot Springs was discovered to have 300 megawatts of power, a power plant suitable for the area demand would be built instead of building a plant commensurate with the size of the field. 1:23:55 PM REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS asked whether the size of the facility correlates with the price per megawatt hour. MR. MASTERMAN responded that a power plant on the Seward Peninsula would have a higher price per megawatt hour than one in California, due simply to its location. 1:24:41 PM REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN read from the University of Michigan Center for Sustainable Systems factsheet [included in the committee packet] that there are 16 national laboratories and research institutions in the U.S. conducting research into geothermal energy technologies. She asked whether the University of Alaska (UA) is engaged with the research into geothermal systems. MR. MASTERMAN answered that in the past DGGS has collaborated on a research project with the Alaska Center for Energy and Power at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. 1:26:01 PM CHAIR PATKOTAK asked about the demand for power in the Nome area. MR. MASTERMAN replied that Nome and the Graphite Creek Mine has a combined power consumption of approximately 12 megawatts, which is closest to [the power plant in Dieng, Indonesia], the smallest displayed on the handout. 1:27:24 PM REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked what the temperatures of the fluid and steam are and expressed interest in the process. MR. MASTERMAN reiterated his earlier description of geothermal energy and explained that geothermal energy is produced by hot water. At Pilgrim Hot Springs the surface water temperature is approximately 50 degrees centigrade, with the hottest temperatures encountered through drilling of 92 degrees centigrade at 120 meters deep. He said that the chemistry of the fluids suggests the geothermal reservoir has a temperature of 150 degrees centigrade, but that temperature hasn't yet been found by drilling. 1:30:15 PM CHAIR PATKOTAK announced that HB 135 was held over.