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| The geothermal wellhead atop the 5,657-foot deep well on Jemez Pueblo lands (Courtesy Dean Hanson/Albuquerque Journal) |
Testing will begin within a few weeks on water at the bottom of a 5,657-foot, recently drilled well that will show whether it is hot enough to generate electric power. Other options include using the geothermal heat for greenhouse agriculture, fish farming, heating buildings or a health spa.
The Jemez Valley, just 40 miles north of Albuquerque, is known for hot springs that stem from ancient volcanic activity. In 2009, Jemez Pueblo landed a $4.9 million Department of Energy grant to explore ways the hot water sources could be developed for geothermal energy.
The first step was to conduct a study using seismic technology that examined the formations beneath a 6-square-mile area of tribal land to a depth of 18,000 feet. Based on the study data, they decided to drill at a site east of N.M. 4, about two miles south of the pueblo.
They hired Aztec Well Services to do the drilling and geothermal exploration specialist Virgil Welch as an on-site consultant. Utah-based TBA Power managed development of the survey techniques and drilling plan.
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