Fairbanks North Star Borough Announces $1 million Grant for Determining Geothermal Well

Fairbanks North Star Borough in Alaska has announced a federal grant of $1 million for a study in finding geothermal energy for large volumes of electric power production. The grant planned to be awarded through a competitive process comes with a rider that requires the winner to match the grant with an additional investment of $1 million.

The intention of this award is to resolve whether considerable heat flow can be achieved from the geothermal well. The winner of the award is expected to install a model structure of the proposed deep geothermal reservoir known as hot zone and bore a test well at the location. The recipient of the award will also have to investigate the drilled well and produce a chart depicting the geological details of the well surface. Luke Hopkins, Mayor of Fairbanks North Star Borough, said that the research scholars from the University of Alaska Fairbanks have shown interest in the project and want to apply for the grant. He invited the companies across the state to apply for the project grant. Currently a hot spring resort in Chena located 60 miles away from Fairbanks sports a geothermal plant.

According to Chris Storhok, grants coordinator for the North Star Borough, the grant was initiated at the request of Jim Whitaker the former Mayor of the borough. He narrated how a 10,000 feet deep test well completed at Eielson Air Force Base around 50 years ago yielded positive results with boiling water. Storhok has informed that the goal of the exercise is to find out whether the existing power plant located at the University of Alaska Fairbanks can be substituted by a geothermal power plant.