Companies to tap hot water resources for new power source making Idaho the fifth state to have geothermal power.

Bubbling springs of hot water underneath Idaho have caught the attention of electric energy companies looking to tap and develop a new energy source.

Two developers have separate projects to harness the hot water through wells and develop a source of renewable electrical energy — making Idaho the fifth state to have geothermal power.

The Associated Press

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The two companies, Idatherm and U.S. Geothermal, are planning what will likely be the state’s first geothermal electrical plants. They are eyeing eastern Idaho and the southern part of the state near Malta for initial project sites.

Once these plants produce megawatts, they could bring less reliance on fossil fuels and natural gas, said Bob Neilson, renewable energies and power technologies department manager of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory.

Idatherm, an Oakley-based company, plans to begin drilling wells this spring southeast of Idaho Falls along the Bingham/Bonneville County line near Willow Creek. The 100-megawatt project will include 10 to 20 wells, and the planners want it up and running by the end of 2005, said Carl Austin, Idatherm’s exploration manager.

They are now completing an environmental study in the area, where an oil company first found the 480-degree water in the late 1970s. The company is also searching for utility companies interested in purchasing the power.

U.S Geothermal planners say the same thing about their project, 15 miles south of Malta. The company plans to turn five wells from a former Department of Energy project into a 10-megawatt geothermal facility.

Chief Operating Officer Doug Glaspey hopes to have a contract with a utility company in place within a couple of months, and aims to begin production by late 2005 or early 2006.

"They essentially should produce power forever," he said. "The attraction for us is it’s a green, renewable energy resource."

Glaspey said potential power buyers include Idaho Power and the Bonneville Power Administration.

Because wells already exist from the DOE, the main tasks involve building the plant and testing the existing wells for water flow.

Glaspey said future expansion is ahead, with more drilling possible in 2006. The extra power could turn the development into a 90-megawatt operation, but he said more research is needed before knowing its full potential.