After failing to reach an underground water source last year, the city of Aspen, Colorado, is aiming to drill a second time for geothermal energy in a riverside parking lot this spring.
The city’s open space board unanimously voted Thursday evening to allow drilling from April 1 through May 25 in the city-owned parking lot of the Prockter Open Space.
The geothermal project has been years in the making for Aspen, where government officials hope to tap the renewable energy source.
A 2008 feasibility study estimated the water below town was 90 to 140 degrees. If it’s above 100 degrees, it could be used to heat local homes. The city would need to successfully tap hot-enough water in at least two test sites before undertaking a project to actually generate geothermal energy.
Board members stressed the importance of completing drilling, and clearing the 3,500-square-foot drilling operation, before Memorial Day weekend, to return Herron Park to its public use for the holiday.
“We also want to be sensitive to park users,” city environmental programs manager Lauren McDonell told the board.
In November and early December, drillers reached 1,003 feet underground without hitting any water. They had anticipated reaching water at 1,000 feet down.
McDonell said they now expect to hit water before 1,500 feet.
“Our experts tell us we’re pretty close,” she said.
If water underground is hot enough, it could be used as a renewable fuel source.
The city stopped drilling in the second week of December, due to neighbor concerns about renting their homes to ski vacationers beside an active industrial drilling site.
The project had originally been slated for earlier in the fall off-season, but the city had trouble finding a driller to do the job in time. To attract bids, the city expanded the allowable size and noise level of the project. That compromise landed the city a contractor but also drew protest from neighbors. The start date was then delayed until the second week of November, as city officials delayed drilling to hear neighbor concerns.
Aspen City Council held a special meeting on the project in October as a result of neighbor concerns, before moving forward with the project.
On Thursday, open space board member Gyles Thornely complemented McDonell on her outreach to neighbors.
“I thought you went out of your way to show them the lines of communication were open,” he said.
City Council is holding another public meeting on Feb. 27. The council does not have to approve any aspects of the project, but McDonell and city officials want to give neighbors ample opportunity to comment.
The city also sent a notice of the April project and the public meeting to neighbors on Tuesday.
“They’re probably sick of hearing from us,” McDonell joked.
Though she sought nearly two months of drilling time to reach water this spring, McDonell said she is hopeful the project will not take that long.
“We anticipate it will be speedy,” she said.
She is still negotiating with California-based Dan’s Water Well & Pump Service, which did the drilling work last year, in hopes of bringing its team back to finish the job.
McDonell said she expects to keep the project’s cost within the original $172,850 budget. A state grant covered $50,000 of that, while the rest came from the city.
Warmer spring temperatures are expected to be an advantage to the process. The December operations were hampered by the need to thaw ice in the drill hole every morning. The city pushed to get the project underway then, despite the complications of winter weather, because the state grant expired at the end of 2011.
The city hasn’t yet secured any such grants for the remainder of the project.
The geothermal project has been years in the making for Aspen, where government officials hope to tap the renewable energy source.
A 2008 feasibility study estimated the water below town was 90 to 140 degrees. If it’s above 100 degrees, it could be used to heat local homes. The city would need to successfully tap hot-enough water in at least two test sites before undertaking a project to actually generate geothermal energy.
A 2008 feasibility study estimated the water below town was 90 to 140 degrees. If it’s above 100 degrees, it could be used to heat local homes. The city would need to successfully tap hot-enough water in at least two test sites before undertaking a project to actually generate geothermal energy.
Board members stressed the importance of completing drilling, and clearing the 3,500-square-foot drilling operation, before Memorial Day weekend, to return Herron Park to its public use for the holiday.
“We also want to be sensitive to park users,” city environmental programs manager Lauren McDonell told the board.
In November and early December, drillers reached 1,003 feet underground without hitting any water. They had anticipated reaching water at 1,000 feet down.
McDonell said they now expect to hit water before 1,500 feet.
“Our experts tell us we’re pretty close,” she said.
If water underground is hot enough, it could be used as a renewable fuel source.
The city stopped drilling in the second week of December, due to neighbor concerns about renting their homes to ski vacationers beside an active industrial drilling site.
The project had originally been slated for earlier in the fall off-season, but the city had trouble finding a driller to do the job in time. To attract bids, the city expanded the allowable size and noise level of the project. That compromise landed the city a contractor but also drew protest from neighbors. The start date was then delayed until the second week of November, as city officials delayed drilling to hear neighbor concerns.
Aspen City Council held a special meeting on the project in October as a result of neighbor concerns, before moving forward with the project.
On Thursday, open space board member Gyles Thornely complemented McDonell on her outreach to neighbors.
“I thought you went out of your way to show them the lines of communication were open,” he said.
City Council is holding another public meeting on Feb. 27. The council does not have to approve any aspects of the project, but McDonell and city officials want to give neighbors ample opportunity to comment.
The city also sent a notice of the April project and the public meeting to neighbors on Tuesday.
“They’re probably sick of hearing from us,” McDonell joked.
Though she sought nearly two months of drilling time to reach water this spring, McDonell said she is hopeful the project will not take that long.
“We anticipate it will be speedy,” she said.
She is still negotiating with California-based Dan’s Water Well & Pump Service, which did the drilling work last year, in hopes of bringing its team back to finish the job.
McDonell said she expects to keep the project’s cost within the original $172,850 budget. A state grant covered $50,000 of that, while the rest came from the city.
Warmer spring temperatures are expected to be an advantage to the process. The December operations were hampered by the need to thaw ice in the drill hole every morning. The city pushed to get the project underway then, despite the complications of winter weather, because the state grant expired at the end of 2011.
The city hasn’t yet secured any such grants for the remainder of the project.
The geothermal project has been years in the making for Aspen, where government officials hope to tap the renewable energy source.
A 2008 feasibility study estimated the water below town was 90 to 140 degrees. If it’s above 100 degrees, it could be used to heat local homes. The city would need to successfully tap hot-enough water in at least two test sites before undertaking a project to actually generate geothermal energy.
