Day 8: June 15th

We left Zion very early to make our way to a geothermal power plant. This power was produced at Blundell Plant in Utah by Pacificorp Energy. Rene Andrews, who was in charge of safety and security as well as environmental supervisor gave my half of the class a tour around the plant. The plant uses wells drilled at 1700 feet. The ground water at these depths is at 400 degrees. They use this hot water to produce steam by expanding the water. The steam spins the turbines and generates electricity. Just 18% of the water flashes to steam and so once the water is reinjected, 82% is returned to the aquifer. I would consider this very efficient. In comparison to coal plants which use a tremendous amount of water to produce energy while polluting the it on top of its pollution of the air. Steam is then produced at the plant in a second phase where brine is used to heat iso-bentene. The iso-bentene is kept in a closed system as the water and brine are returned to the ground by injection wells. They claim that their plant is one of the least regulated because of their excellent track record in keepking the injections clean and free of iso-bentene. I feel that this plant is extremely sustainable and has a minimul impact on the environment. My only concern is that the water being reinjected to the ground is at a temperature of much lower degrees than when it was taken out of the aquifer. This could cause problems in the future.
After the power plant we drove to Lake Powell. We stayed in a campsite a mile from the lake in Arizona right at the Utah border. We went for a swim in the lake when we got there which was a great time. We all decided to sleep under the stars that night. It was incredible.