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U.S. Geothermal Announces Completion of First Well at Neal Hot Springs

July 14, 2008 | 5 Comments

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Idaho, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com] U.S. Geothermal Inc. announced that the first full size production well (NHS-1) at the Neal Hot Springs Project was successfully completed on May 23 and an initial flow test confirms the presence of a geothermal reservoir.

"Although the flowing temperature at this specific depth is 277 degrees F (136 degrees C), the extremely high productivity index indicates potential production of five to six megawatts from this well."

-- Daniel Kunz, President and CEO, U.S. Geothermal

NHS-1 encountered a large, productive, geologic fracture in the Neal Hot Springs geothermal reservoir at 2,287 feet below surface and was completed to a depth of 2,305 feet. Initial flow testing resulted in a flowing temperature inside the well casing of 277 degrees F (136 degrees C). The new well flowed under artesian pressure at 1,200 gallons per minute (gpm), but was controlled and reduced to 800 gpm for the duration of the test due to equipment constraints.

"Although the flowing temperature at this specific depth is 277 degrees F (136 degrees C), the extremely high productivity index indicates potential production of five to six megawatts from this well," said Daniel Kunz, U.S. Geothermal's president and CEO. "This is a great start for development of the Neal Hot Springs project."

Geothermal Energy

5 Reader Comments

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1 of 5

eldad-collins-136170

July 16, 2008

Sort of related to Paul and Gene's comments; how feasible is a non-extractive geothermal power generator? In Rotorua (New Zealand) we've just started experimenting with down-bore heat exchangers. Is this thechnology being used elsewhere?

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2 of 5

gene-schroeder-147801

July 16, 2008

And how long will the flow and energy extraction last ?

And how long will be the reheating process ?

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3 of 5

paul-johnson-34828

July 16, 2008

So what's the cost per Kwh to consumers?

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4 of 5

oscar-melo-131321

July 17, 2008

The NHS-1 is the first production well, how many feets were drilled before encountering the reservoir?

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5 of 5

david-caputo-151891

July 19, 2008

The true answer in my opinion is the next-generation super-large scale (think Hoover Dam) geothermal electric (GeoVoltaic) projects now under development at Atlantic Geothermal and elsewhere. Depths now reached by the deepest oil drilling rigs would be used to get permanent large-scale clean electricity generation without hardly any impact on the environment. It STAYS hot down at 30,000 feet.

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