The U.S. Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technology Program announced their written approval of the Induced Seismicity Mitigation Plan (ISMP) prepared for the Newberry Enhanced Geothermal System Demonstration, currently being conducted in the Deschutes National Forest.
The purpose of the ISMP is to demonstrate AltaRock’s preparedness for addressing and mitigating potential seismic activity of concern to people at the demonstration site. Because EGS technology makes use of microseismicity to create and monitor reservoir growth, the Department of Energy requires the application of their Protocol for Addressing Induced Seismicity Associated with EGS.
“The Department of Energy’s approval of our Induced Seismicity Mitigation Plan highlights the great level of care and attention we have brought to this issue since the project’s inception,” said Will Osborn, project manager for AltaRock. “In our public outreach meetings we’ve received and responded to concerns about water usage and potential seismic activity; approval by the Department of Energy affirms that this project is well-planned and well-executed, and we’re excited to keep the process moving along here in Oregon. We encourage the pubic to review the approved plan available on our web site, and continue to provide comments and questions through our new toll-free information line.”
About the Newberry EGS Demonstration
The purpose of the project is to demonstrate the technology necessary to create geothermal reservoirs to extract heat from the earth in locations where high temperatures can be reached by conventional drilling techniques – in an effort to advance geothermal energy’s promise and potential in the U.S.
The Newberry Volcano EGS Demonstration is partially supported by the Department of Energy under Award Number DE-EE0002777, with $21.5 million in grant funds from the Department of Energy matched by an additional $22.4 million from the AltaRock-Davenport partnership. The project is also benefitting from the research efforts of faculty and students at the Oregon State University, the University of Utah, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Texas A&M, and Temple University. AltaRock Energy (http://www.altarockenergy.com) is a renewable energy development company focused on the research and development of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). Davenport Newberry (http://www.newberrygeothermal.com) specializes in the development and management of geothermal opportunities. Please contact us toll-free with your comments and questions at 855-USA4EGS (855-872-4347).
