TERRACE— It sounds too good to be true. Drill a hole down to where the rocks are hot, pump- brine into the hole, drill another - . hole to let the steam out to drive a turbine and — presto! — hydro power with no fuel. And it may or may. not be too good to be true in this area. The B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources last week called for expressions of interest to explore the Mount Layton hot springs area to see if it’s the right spot to try a geothermal energy project. Two experts who exptored the ‘region in the early 1980's present differing assessments of the prospects. - Terry McCullough wrote a report on geothermal potential of the area for B.C. Hydro in 1981. “There were two reports. One said the area deserved further work. I didn’t think it did." McCullough explained that gen- erating geothermal power requires a type of underground geological structure he doesn’t think exists in the Lakelse area. To contro] the venting steam and direct it to the surface, the area has to have porous rock. He thinks Lakelse is characterized by fractured subter- ranean chambers, which can also be used but make the generating pidcess much moré difficult “fo contro! and unpredictable. Geothermal energy involves big risks and big payoffs. McCullough says if the first stages — which involve soil and water sampling for chemical analyses —- look promising, the stage will be "slim- hole" drilling not unlike the pro- cess used in mineral exploration. If that stage pans out, the pre-psoduc- tion work would call for large drilling rigs like those seen on oil fields. About 50 truckloads of equipment would put in a small pilot plant. "It’s a big undertakin- g,” he said. ,McCullough said i’s a "fairly benign" type of energy in environ- mental terms, consisting of a closed loop of steam with little AQ Terrace Review — _ Wednesday, June 13, 1990 - ‘Hot springs to be probed for... — “ ~ energy potentiat~ ; ‘analysis of watér sainples to deter" we tarsh e mA material “escaping: ‘The only prob- . 2 - Jem is the sound. YS} ‘pretty noisy~. from the steam venting," hé said. - In-analyzing the Lakelse area, he- said, "To me, the fundamental geology is not there." McCullough”: worked for B.C. Hydro on * Canada’s largest geothermal ex- periment to date, the Meager Creek project near Pemberton. During the same period. McCullough was probing the area, the geological consulting firm of Neville-Sadlier-Brown-Goodbrand also did a study for B.C, Hydro. Stu Cross, a member of the firm, thinks there are possibilities up here. "It’s a very interesting area, geologically. The setting suggests a near-surface heat source." Cross noted that by "near-surface", he means in the order of 2,000-3,000 meters down. "There could be a sizeable magma (molten rock) chamber." It’s also a tricky area, he said. The wet climate makes the heat source difficult to find because the water is so diluted by the time it reaches the surface. If someone takes the government up on the exploration bid, Cross said, they'll have to do soil samp]- ing for traces of mercury (an indi- cator of current underground vol- canic activity) and do a chemical mine how hot the water was prior to coming to the surface. The cost is prohibitive. Cross figures $10-20 million just to get a demonstration plant going. For a retum, he says, "The developer would probably want to see at least 50 and probably up to 250 megawatts" of permanent generat- ing capacity. ' He gives the area a reasonably good chance. "I’ve always thought it was the second best place in B.C, for that sort of thing.” The first, of course, is Meager Creek. The government is offering two eight-year permits to 5,726 hec- tares around Lakelse Lake. The results of the tendering will be announced Aug, 17, 4535 Greig Avenue. Terrace, B.C. V8G 1M7 | Oo Cheque L] Money Order Please send a subscription to: Subscription Order Form O 1 year — $39.00 . .Name._..— . | Address _ Prong — _— Postal Code ’ Seniors In Terrace and District $30.00 ‘Seniors outside of Terrace and District $33.00 - Out of Canada $100. 00 O Master Card O Visa Card No... Expiry Date Mail or-bring. this form to: 4535 Greig Avenue, | _ Terrace, B. Cc. V8G 1M7. IF IT’S THIS HOT AT THE TOP, what's it like ‘way down underground? The government wants somebody to find out. No effect here yet from truckers’ slowdown action While an injunction has halted the independent truckers’ work stoppage at the Canada-US. border, the issue of cut-rate prices charged to Canadian shippers by U.S. trucking firms has yet to be resolved. Independent Canadian trackers ‘ call this" practice ‘intfair ~ and say it was created- by deregulation and Free Trade. To date, however, the strike, or the more recent random actions taken since the injunction came into effect, have had little effect on Terrace itself. The Terrace Overwaitea store reports no problems in their B.C. transportation network and Safeway manager Eric Johanson says a highway washout near Prince George is a bigger problem right now than the truckers. The recent washout has caused a 24-hour delay in shipments, according to Johanson, but so far, other than deliveries from the U.S., there have been few problems caused by protesting truckers. The Terrace Review - only real difficulty noted by Johanson was a shipment of California cor that failed to reach B.C. before the strike began. It is this type of problem, though, that could create difficulty in the future « if the situation isn’t resolved soon. - ‘Acéordirg’ to ‘one local transportation official there are still random protests being carried out by independent truckers, and a Vancouver-Calgary convoy has been organized to increase public awareness, If the situation remains unresolved in a month or two, however, that could change. Things could get nasty and independent trucking could grind to a halt. And if this happens, we “might run into some difficulties in Terrace. For those more concemed about beer than corn, though, there’s still nothing to worry about... except American beer, which is being stopped at the border. Big River Distributors manager Gien Johnson | says all their shipments come into the area through Kitimat via RivTow barge and their own staff both receive and. deliver the merchandise. - BChydro David Lane John Whitmer ‘Two new members from north-central British Columbia have been appointed to the board ofdirectors of B.C. Hydro. Inannouncing the appointments of David Lane, of Terrace, and John Whitmer, of Prince George, Hydro chairman Lawrence I. Bell. drew attention to their specialized knowledge of the real estate and forest industries. Mr. Laneis president of Dagny Development Corporation, areal estate investment company which has controlling ownership of approximately $7.5 million in real estate assets. He has 22 years’ experience in appraisal and has completed successful negotiations for land assembly projects and property purchases exceeding $100 million in value, © Mr. Whitmer is president and a director of Balfour Forest. Products Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canadian Forest Products Ltd., and is currently chairman of the British Columbia Forest _Association. He has 40 years’experiencein the forest industry andalso o setves on the boards of several forest and commu nity organizations, vo. A ae re tei Sin 6 petri Aha kare Ni lee a aa eR Ie