The Navajo Transitional Energy Co., or NTEC, moved closer to adding renewable energy development to its energy portfolio after Tohatchi Chapter approved a feasibility study for the company's proposed geothermal project at a hot springs on the east side of Tohatchi.Tohatchi Chapter members on June 22 passed a resolution that gave the go-ahead for NTEC to seek "resource exploration" and the study.
NTEC spokesman Erny Zah said the entity plans to spend approximately $84,600 on the study, which is being led by graduate students from the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo.
Last fall, NTEC established a partnership with the school to develop the project, which would also add jobs and support student research and project collaboration by Navajo Technical University students and faculty, according to GRC Board Director Masami Nakagawa, Colorado School of Mines associate professor.
Preliminary tests of the subsurface water bubbling up in Tohatchi showed it is about 38 degrees Celsius, or 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, not quite warm enough to produce power without help, Nakagawa said.