Alaskan power company joins INL-based geothermal consortium

The Idaho National Laboratory announced today that Chena Power, an Alaska-based company, has officially joined the Snake River Geothermal Consortium team. The company is the first technical partner from outside the Lower 48 and joins 17 other national laboratories, universities and industry partners.

The consortium is one of five teams that received funding in April from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy  to pursue the development of geothermal energy. It is led by Robert Podgorney, who has had a longtime fascination with geothermal and heads INL’s Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy, or FORGE.

What he is hoping to see by 2018 is deep drilling on the Snake River Plain southwest of Howe. The consortium is proposing to locate the nation’s first Enhanced Geothermal System test site on the western edge of the INL, in a renowned “hot spot” that is already home to the lab’s 40-square-mile Geothermal Resource Research Area.

The idea is to have one well pumping water into the crust of the Earth 8,000 to 12,000 feet deep, then push it horizontally through fractures in the subsurface rock, heating it to around 175 degrees Celsius, then bringing the hot water back to the surface to produce energy. Podgorney said he believes FORGE has the potential to generate large amounts of carbon-free baseload power, perhaps revolutionizing energy production worldwide.

The money awarded in April — $400,000 to Podgorney’s consortium — is for Phase 1. Two teams will be eliminated before $27 million is awarded in Phase 2. Podgorney is optimistic that the consortium he has assembled will make the cut, which will be announced in June 2016.

“The practical experience that Chena brings to the team will be instrumental if our team is selected to move into Phase 2,” he said. “We need the kind of ingenuity that has gone into developing the power plant in Alaska, especially when it comes to demonstrating power generation at the later stages of FORGE.”

Chena Power’s announcement came at the Tenth Annual Renewable Energy Fair. Among those at the announcement were Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan.

Other participants in the consortium include the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; the Center for Advanced Energy Studies, which incorporates people from Idaho State University, Boise State University, the University of Idaho and the University of Wyoming; the University of Oklahoma and University of Utah; Mink GeoHydro and Baker Hughes.

An advisory panel has also been established to keep in touch with regulatory agencies and non-governmental organizations like the Idaho Conservation League and Snake River Alliance.

On social media, you can follow the FORGE team by searching #SnakeRiverFORGE and #FORGE. Follow @INL and @CAESEnergy on Twitter or visit our Facebook pages at www.facebook.com/IdahoNationalLaboratory and www.facebook.com/CenterforAdvancedEnergyStudies.

Hospice of Eastern Idaho opening in-patient home in Ammon

Hospice of Eastern Idaho is having a ribbon cutting and open house Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 2  p.m. at its new six-bed in-patient hospice home at 1087 Curlew Drive.

The home, only one of two in Idaho, will be opening its doors to patients around the second week of September.

Hospice of Eastern Idaho, the only non-profit hospice agency in the area, has been providing care to the terminally ill and their families since 2000. The organization is Medicare and Medicaid Certified and belongs to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

As a 501(c)(3) non-profit agency, it provides care regardless of ability to pay. It serves a five-county area providing care anywhere the patient resides: home, assisted living or skilled nursing facility.

For more information, contact Executive Director Celeste Eld at 529-0342.

Home2 by Hilton owners shooting for Sept. 8 opening

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Work on the pool at the Home2 by Hilton at Snake River Landing. 

The Home2 by Hilton hotel at Snake River Landing is scheduled to open Sept. 8, according to Rusty Townsend, president and CEO of B&T Hospitality Management, the company that also owns Hilton Garden Inn.

Headwaters Construction, the contractor on the 91-room hotel, has met all its deadlines, he said. Work on the pool is being finished, said Larry Wolf, another B&T officer.

The pool is unique to the Home2 by Hilton chain in that the purification system is saline-based instead of chlorine-based. “It’s a much greener alternative,” Wolf said.

The four-story, 94,425-square-foot hotel is located at the corner of Snake River Parkway and Whitewater Drive. There is parking for 112 vehicles.

Townsend said B&T’s original plan was to build the hotel next door to Hilton Garden Inn, but as Snake River Landing began to take shape they opted for the location. Since his partner in B&T is Ball Ventures, Snake River Landing’s developer, it wasn’t hard to change.

“We like it here with all the walking and all the restaurants,” Townsend said.

He said he is very optimistic about the business prospects for Idaho Falls hotels. Tour buses on their way to Yellowstone National Park have been pulling in to the Hilton Garden Inn every night. "We have had the best three consecutive months we've ever had," he said.

Launched in 2009, Home2 is the first new brand introduced by Hilton Worldwide in 20 years. The focus is for customers who are planning for an extended stay, so the suites include kitchenettes  and flexible working space between the living room and bedroom areas. The patio area adjacent to the pool features three gas barbecue grills. If you burn your steak, Stockman’s restaurant is next door.

Townsend said they are planning on a ribbon cutting and grand opening in October.

The kitchenette in one of the rooms.

Business basics workshop set Aug. 27

Irene Gonzalez

The Small Business Development Center and SCORE are sponsoring a free Business Basics Workshop Aug. 27, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Idaho Innovation Center, 2300 North Yellowstone Highway in Idaho Falls.

The workshop will feature a presentation by Irene Gonzalez of the Boise office of the Small Business Administration, who will talk about how to use your research to build your business plan and the importance of starting your business with a sturdy foundation.

Topics she covers include self-evaluation, available resources, choosing a legal structure, building a business plan, preparing for a lender, and marketing.

Anyone interested in attending needs to RSVP Gary Johnsen at gwjohnsen@gmail.com.

Warner Truck Centers building $8 million dealership south of Idaho Falls

 

Warner Truck Centers of Salt Lake City, is moving forward on an $8 million Freightliner Truck dealership in Bonneville County, on 12.73 acres of land near Interstate 15 Exit 113.
The plans, filed in late July, call for a 55,106-square-foot truck sales and repair area, with a 10,000-square-foot mezzanine. It project is located at the corner of 65th South and Doug Andrus Drive. The contractor on the project is Zwick Construction of Midvale, Utah.

The company has been in operation since 1983. The Idaho Falls dealership will be its fifth. Its other Idaho dealership is in Jerome and another is planned for Caldwell. In Utah, the company is in Salt Lake, Salina and Hurricane. Overall, it employs close to 480 people.

As a certified Freightliner, Western Star, and Sterling dealership the company provides parts and service for both heavy and light duty vehicles, body and paint work and fleet management.

For more about the company, follow this link to a 2013 story that ran in the Salt Lake Tribune: Utah's Warner Truck Center keeps the big rigs moving.