Idaho's Geothermal Prospects and Development Potential

Abstract

Large-scale power generation and related development activities in Idaho have not materialized over the past three decades, despite the state’s recognized geothermal potential. Raft River is the only commercial-scale power generating geothermal facility (10 MWe) in the state. Since the last geothermal exploratoion boom in the 1970s and 80s, commercial efforts have primarily focused on direct-use applications such as space heating of public and private buildings and greenhouses, as well as in aquaculture, largely because of easy access to moderate-temperature (35 to 80 oC) fluids from springs and at readily drillable depths. The number of low-temperature direct-use applications has grown steadily over the past 30 years but slowed considerably in the past decade. However, a number of recent trends point to a renewed interest in the state’s high-temperature power generating potential that may finally put Idaho “on the map.”