Grant to Help Geothermal Research in Rural Utah

SALT LAKE CITY – A newly approved grant will help bring nearly two dozen high-paying jobs in rural Utah.

The Office of the Governor of Economic Development has approved a grant of $ 365,000 in collaboration with the Frontier Observatory for Geothermal Energy Research. The project will create 23 new jobs with an average salary of $ 94,000 a year and a capital investment of more than $ 100 million, according to Rob Simmons, Deputy Director of the Governor's Office of Energy Development

"(Geothermal power) has huge potential for Utah, nationally and globally, "Simmons said. "This research is going to be useful for expanding geothermal energy around the world."

Last month, the US Department of Energy said that Utah would receive up to $ 140 million in funding over five years to build a first of its kind research lab for advance next-generation geothermal technologies, a press release said. The project would also produce jobs in construction and other jobs in a rural area of ​​the state that sometimes has difficulty maintaining long-term employment prospects, said Simmons

. He said:

The Institute of Energy and Geoscience of the University of Utah, in partnership with the Governor's Office of Energy Development, l & # 39; 39, Utah Geological Survey and other agencies, is leading the project. The program provides a dedicated site where scientists and engineers are able to develop, test and accelerate breakthroughs in improved geothermal technologies and technologies, says Simmons

"The FORGE project will certainly provide greater information and He added that technological research is crucial for the eventual development of high-capacity energy production. "Utah was the third-largest geothermal energy producer in the country – producing About 72 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 72,000 homes, he said.But the state has the potential to produce even more zero-emission geothermal energy, he added.

"Utah has about 2,200 megawatts that are close to being commercially viable," he added.He says the generation of geothermal energy produces a like the wind and the sun that are intermittent.

The University of Utah was one of the last two candidates for a national hunt to develop an underground laboratory that exploits ways to harness the power of artificial geothermal reservoirs.

harnessing a potential power of 100 gigawatts by injecting cold water deep into the Earth to interact with warm crystalline rocks – temperatures above 375 degrees – and then transfer that heat to the surface to produce heat. # 39; electricity.

badigned to Beaver County to badist in the construction of project-related infrastructure, which was a top priority in the county's economic development plan recently introduced to Governor Gary Herbert.

"The challenge and opportunity in rural Utah are to find unique badets and exploit them," said Scott Albrecht, director of economic development for Beaver County. What looked like a piece of land that was unusable 20 years ago today is home to a half – billion – dollar renewable energy badet that we can cling to.

The geothermal energy project will bring the Beaver County renewable energy portfolio to a new level.

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"FORGE is carrying out years of collaborative work and hundreds of hours of work (from the Energy Bureau) knit together state and", said Laura Nelson, the governor's energy advisor and executive director of the State Energy Development Bureau.

This is a great victory for renewable energy in a rural community. from Utah, said GOED executive director Val Hale.

"A project that has been under consideration for years is now being realized," he said. Beaver County's infrastructure and will bring an unparalleled capital investment in one of our rural communities. "