Recent News & Information
2/5/2010 – Hot Springs Community Clashes With Hot Energy Source in Colo.
Comments – one of the best of a number of articles after the BLM removed the lease from auction this month. The
comments on drilling noise should be on everyone’s minds; the statements made by Mt. Princeton Hot Springs are
interesting.
1/7/2010 – Geothermal lease sale to be topic of public meeting
http://www.chaffeecountytimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=2&ArticleID=5351
Comment – This will be the last meeting before the closing of the comment and protest period for this geothermal parcel. Those of you who feel strongly about this process need to be there; the meeting starts at 7:30 PM on Jan 14th at the Buena Vista Community Center.
We feel that this is yet another attempt to sandbag the residents this area. PLEASE REMEMBER – any protests or comments you make at this meeting are NOT official. If you have any that you truly want considered, you must use the written process as noted in the “Take Action!” section of this web site. It seems clear that the BLM intends to try to restrict the range of questions it will address – we need to insist that our concerns be addressed whether it’s convenient or not for the agencies involved.
We will be interested in asking what attention has been paid to the protest letters already written. (As a note on letters to the BLM, the BLM must receive those no later than January 27th. To be safe, don’t wait much longer to get a letter in to the BLM if you want it to have a chance of counting).
So please come to the meeting, come prepared with good questions, and be prepared to insist that “our” agenda is just as important as “their” agenda. While we have these experts in our neighborhood we need to get as many answers as we can.
12/14/09 Next BLM sale of oil, gas leases in Colorado set to include parcel for geothermal development – see pages 8 to 16.
Comment – Actual sales document for geothermal lease can be found on this site. The stipulations have been modified since the November auction, but we see no real change in the net result. In fact, surface owners in the parcel received “Courtesy Notices” today explaining that the mineral lease holder, should the lease be issued, may be coming their way for development purposes one of these days. The BLM has developed a brochure to help explain split estate issues, but readers of this site have been knowledgeable about these for some time. If you want a true feel for the level of protection the law allows, ask the people or study the history of those who have dealt with issues like coal bed methane exploration as surface estate owners.
12/14/09 Geothermal Project in California Is Shut Down
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/12/science/earth/12quake.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
Comment: While each project is different in it’s potential for earthquakes, are even more concerned with changes to the water flowing underground in our aquifer. Earthquakes can happen on their own, obviously, and there’s nothing anyone can do about. But going forward with projects in a seismically active, faulted area is a choice that should be made with great caution. We see no attitude of caution here.
12/02/09 Debris-flow monitoring, Chalk Cliffs, Colorado
http://landslides.usgs.gov/monitoring/chalk_cliffs/
Comment – we’ll let the USGS site speak for itself, since one of the items used in determining if erosive soil issues are a problem for the geothermal acreage in question: “Chalk Cliffs, located 8 miles southwest of Buena Vista, CO, is one of the most active debris-flow areas in the state. Typically one or more debris flows occur each year after intense or prolonged rainfall. The debris flows are triggered by surface-water runoff over loose material stored in channels.
12/02/09 BLM considers geothermal leasing in Colorado
By DENNIS WEBB/The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/news/stories/2009/11/07/110809_1A_Geothermal_leases.html
Comment – At the end of this article, a note by Kevin Rein of the Division of Water Resources may be cause for great concern. It seems as though, regardless of all else, every effort to apply a lesser degree of oversight to geothermal projects is being considered. This is in spite of the numbers produced by both the BLM and the USGS showing Colorado has virtually no chance of having any significant potential to generate electricity by geothermal means. Both the BLM and the USGS put Colorado, unfortunately, at the very bottom of Western States. So, in the name of truly insignificant potential electrical production, it seems the powers that be are willing to consider stretching every possible safeguard to our water and countryside.
11/27/09 2010 Solar Pricing to Be About Half the 2008 Cost
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/11/27/2010-solar-pricing-to-be-about-half-the-2008-cost/
Comment – we see the cost of solar power steadily declining with technology advances. Unfortunate, the cost of geothermal installations will continue to rise as we see the long term price of oil rising as energy demand comes back. As that happens, drilling for geothermal sources will rise as well. We believe that solar energy, in it’s different forms, will be a bigger part of the renewable energy mix over time and will make more economic sense as well. You don’t need to assault a beautiful hot springs area for solar power!
11/26/09 ‘Gator aid–Hooper man rescues unwanted reptiles
http://www.alamosanews.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=75&story_id=14957
11/24/09 3.4-magnitude quake shakes rural N. California
http://www.montereyherald.com/state/ci_13856613?nclick_check=1
Comment – this earthquake was close to the Geyser’s geothermal facility in California. Because of the rural nature of the area, little to no surface damage occurred. Chalk Creek is rural but not uninhabited by any means. Earthquakes, which are evidence of underground changes at depth, are a concern to us as they relate to the way our aquifer might be altered irreversibly by a geothermal facility.
11/23/09 Proposed geothermal lease in Chaffee County has residents steamed
Comment – We support sensible geothermal energy development. For all the reasons expressed in recent newspaper articles and more fully explained on this web site, “our” 800 acre parcel should be part of the 25 million acres CLOSED to leasing by the BLM. Surely they can find a way to utilize the other 111 million acres that are OPEN to leasing to develop whatever geothermal potential the state has without irreparably harming the 800 prime recreational acres in front of the Chalk Cliffs of Chaffee County.
11/20/09 Clarification of data as requested by some people who have read the site.
As a loose group, we all have various opinions, but the great majority of us believe that geothermal energy is an excellent renewable, clean technology (when done right, and when done in an appropriate area – the Chalk Cliffs failing on both counts. But unfortunately, while Colorado has a lot of geothermal energy, it is present mostly as what the industry calls a”low-grade source”. That makes an economical project, even with all the stimulus money help, difficult.
We found a few pages in the web site that tell the sad tale. A 2009 USGS paper ranked various states for their geothermal potential, in terms of being able to generate electricity with that energy. Here it is:
They estimate that, in the next 30 years, all of Colorado might expect 30 MW geothermal capacity. That’s hugely disappointing, and surprising – we were lead to think geothermal had a huge potential – maybe, but not for making electricity.
As a check, we looked to see what the BLM had to say. Here is there view, buried in the PEIS Guideline documents under “Useful Links”:
Again, even out to 2025 geothermal energy is not going to be a true player in the renewable energy scene in terms of electricity production. More local, direct use may be helpful and useful. But don’t be fooled into thinking we’ve got this huge, USABLE endowment of geothermal energy. We must get real in the move to renewable energy.
Hope this clarifies things!
11/19/09 Geothermal Lease Steams Some Chalk Creek Residents
by Joe Stone Special to The Mail
http://www.themountainmail.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=17783
11/18/09 Residents Develop Geothermal Web Site
Audrey Gilpin – Mail Staff Writer
http://www.themountainmail.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=17768