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| A US Coast Guard icebreaker attempts to lead a Russian tanker through the thickening ice to the remote Alaskan community of Nome (Image: Petty officer 1st class Sara Francis, US Coast Guard) |
Geothermal energy isn't the first thing that springs to mind when I hear of Nome, Alaska. I think of the event the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race commemorates: a 1925 relay of sled dog drivers and their teams who delivered diptheria serum to the stricken gold-rush town, braving blizzards. I think of the extremely harsh winter of 2012, when the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy escorted the Russian fuel tanker Renda through winter sea ice to deliver 1.3 million gallons of fuel to Nome after a fall fuel delivery failure.
It's not easy living in a remote city in Alaska. For power and heating needs, Nome relies primarily on diesel-driven generators. That makes the cost of living very high and planning ahead a struggle.
Nome pays one price for per gallon of fuel a year, and it's upwards of $6. It's not surprising that developing alternative energy sources is looked on favorably. Already a wind farm helps provide supplement power. And now, a diverse group is working toward developing geothermal energy to serve the city of Nome.
