Newberry geothermal research lab clears first hurdle

A proposed federal geothermal energy research lab at the Newberry Volcano near La Pine cleared its first hurdle on Monday and was awarded $400,000 by the Department of Energy in first-phase funding.

Now it’s one of five sites vying for the $30 million project.

Last Thursday, Central Oregon lawmakers won their colleagues’ backing in a bid to bring the project to Central Oregon.

State Rep. Gene Whisnant (R-Sunriver) sponsored and carried House Joint Memorial 19 (HJM 19) successfully on the House floor with a unanimous vote of passage.

“This would essentially allow us to have state-of-the-art research on engineered geothermal systems,” said Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, who is co-sponsoring the bill.

HJM 19 urges the Secretary of Energy and Congress to site the U.S. Department of Energy’s Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) at the Newberry Geothermal Project in Deschutes County.

“It’s an independent lab, sponsored by the Department of Energy, to have a facility up there and some funding to get work done,” David Stowe, spokesman for the Newberry Geothermal Project, said Monday. “Companies from around the world can come.”

The FORGE will perform advanced research on enhanced geothermal systems for the purpose of developing large-scale, economically sustained heat exchange systems.

Construction and operation of the lab in Deschutes County would also create around 300 temporary construction and 100 permanent employment positions for Central Oregonians. Five other regions, including Idaho, are seeking the FORGE lab.

“Any time you have the opportunity to create family wage jobs in Central Oregon — and especially in those high numbers, especially in the southern part of the county — it’s critical that we pursue those,” Knopp said.

Whisnant said, “Deschutes County is a prime location to locate this Geothermal Research Lab. Constructing and operating the lab here would produce economic benefits to the region and make Oregon a national leader in researching alternative energy sources.”

He said the DOE estimates that the FORGE lab will be funded at $30 million a year.

An Oregon advantage for the FORGE siting is that it would be located near the private AltaRock Newberry Geothermal Project, which is already working with the DOE and Oregon State University.

HJM 19 supporters include Governor Kate Brown, U.S. senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and local private and public organizations.

“I look forward to working with our colleagues at the federal level to bring this lab to Oregon and continue to make our state a leader in alternative energy production,” Whisnant said in a news release.

HJM 19 was also sponsored by House Republican Leader Mike McLane (R-Powell Butte), Rep. Gail Hildreth Whitsett (R-Klamath Falls), and Sens. Tim Knopp (R-Sunriver) and Doug Whitsett (R-Klamath Falls).

The first two phases of FORGE will provide a total of up to $31 million over two years for selected sites.

Stowe said the site will have similar environmental impacts as the already existing Newberry geothermal project.

“It will have to go through the same public scrutiny that we had to go though for the demonstration project,” Stowe said.