The resort is located about 60 miles east of Fairbanks and is off the Railbelt electric grid. Resort owners have long been self-reliant for power needs, using diesel-fired generators in past years.

Taking a leap of faith in promising but commercially unproven technology, Chena Hot Springs added two 200-kilowatt geothermal-driven electric generation systems in 2006. The resort partnered with United Technologies Corp., a parent company of Carrier air conditioning and refrigeration equipment, which had originally designed the equipment to operate off of industrial waste heat applications.

Because the hot water at Chena is cooler than what has historically been tapped for power generation, the project was not a certain success.

“We could not find a manufacturer to work with us, because our low temperature was so low,” said Gwen Holdmann, vice president of new development at Chena Hot Springs Resort.

One key aspect of the project is the use of R-134a, a commonly used refrigerant that boils at low temperatures, creating steam needed to power the electric generation equipment. Most of the system at Chena utilizes Carrier equipment that is already mass produced.

“It benefits us because the Carrier refrigeration equipment is quite a bit less expensive than power generation equipment,” Holdmann said. “The type of cost is reduced by about half to two-thirds, which is a pretty big difference for these power generation projects.”

Holdmann said the project has been successful so far. The resort dramatically reduced power generation costs, about $75,000 in 2006 and about $500,000 in 2007, and UTC released the system for sale in early 2007 in a slightly reconfigured package, she said.

Now, Chena is taking multiple steps to achieve its vision of becoming “Éa self-sufficient community in terms of energy, food, heating and fuel use to the greatest extent possible,” according to the facility's Web site, with a variety of renewable energy projects being implemented.

The projects go beyond theoretical or laboratory-controlled research, as several have been included in the daily business operations at the resort, helping to prove up the economic aspect of new technology.

Continuing on the initial success of the geothermal electric production, the resort has installed an electrolyzer, part of a former fuel cell project transferred from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Arctic Energy Technology Development Laboratory.

The electrolyzer uses excess geothermal-generated electricity at Chena to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen, with a capacity for generating about 6 kilograms of hydrogen per day, Holdmann said.

Artesian water flows out of a production well. Chena has worked for several years to find more efficient methods for using its hot water springs to heat and power the resort. Photos Courtesy of Chena Hot Springs Resort

“The next step will be to compress the hydrogen to store it for use directly as a fuel, or to run a fuel cell,” the resort's Web site said. “Chena is also researching options for using hydrogen for transportation applications, in addition to exploring the use of electric vehicles.”

Frying for a ride

Each year, the resort burns about 6,000 gallons of diesel fuel shuttling guests from Fairbanks to the facility. Replacing some or all of that diesel fuel with hydrogen or electric-powered vehicles is one option for using excess geothermal power production.

“We have golf carts on site that plug into electric,” Holdmann said. “That's the direction we're looking at now, plug-in electric vehicles.”

The resort recently received a $100,000 grant from the National Science Foundation's Small Business Innovation Program to support ongoing work in hydrogen production and use, as well as planning for possible future hydrogen initiatives.

In addition to researching hydrogen and electric fuel sources for transportation, Holdmann, a mechanical engineer by trade, is testing out two vehicles that are partially fueled by vegetable oil recycled from the resort's restaurant. Those include a 1990 Dodge truck, which has achieved monthly fuel savings of about $400, and a Jeep Liberty sports utility vehicle.

The resort and its utility company, Chena Power, have also partnered with UTC on two other planned alternative energy projects that use technology similar to the geothermal power project at the resort. Depending on funding and logistical details being worked out, both projects could begin this summer.

A biomass power project, which is fueled by burning discarded paper, cardboard and brush, is planned for the Fairbanks area. Heat from the burned products raises the temperature of a thermal oil, which replaces the hot springs water in the UTC-designed power generation system.

“It's the same organic ranking cycle process, with a 400 kilowatt generator,” Holdmann said.

The biomass project would be installed at the K & K Recycling facility located a few miles southeast of Fairbanks, a business also owned by Bernie and Connie Karl, proprietors of Chena Hot Springs Resort. Because of its location, the electric power generated by biomass would be sold to the local electric utility, Golden Valley Electric Association.

The biomass power project is dependent on grant funding pending with the Denali Commission, Holdmann said.

“We'd like to install it this summer, but it's really contingent on grant funding,” Holdmann said. “There are not the same economic factors. We think it has real value for a rural location. In town, it's basically a demonstration project because it barely breaks even.”

Another proposed alternative energy project using similar thermal oil power generation technology has already received grant funding, $724,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy, Holdmann said.

This project would use waste heat generated during oil production as the power source for the thermal oil heater/generator, creating electricity with a “minimal impact” on the primary oil production work.

The plan is to install a 200-kilowatt electric generation system at an operating oil production facility on the North Slope sometime this summer. The demonstration project would run for two years, according to the project plans, Holdmann said.