Advances in renewable energy are just around the corner in Central Oregon.South of Bend, Oregon, the Newberry Volcano rises about 4,000 feet above the city (7,989 above sea level). Newberry is the largest volcano in the Cascades, and its last eruption was just 1,300 years ago. This sleeping giant – a caldera like Crater Lake – is now the star of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, where Oregonians and tourists can camp and hike along its two lakes, the impressive lava flows, or many volcanic cones and vents (there are more than 400!).
But just under the earth’s crust, the area around Newberry offers much more – and the NEWGEN team of experts are ready to tap into the volcano’s potential renewablegeothermal energy.
NEWGEN – Newberry Geothermal Energy – is a team of partners who want to strengthen geothermal technology using the natural energy under the western flank of the Newberry Volcano. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Oregon State University, AltaRock Energy, Inc., GE Global Research, and Statoil are working together to develop and test engineered geothermal systems (EGS) at Newberry.
