After all this pollution and energy resource depletion, people are finally switching to alternative resources of energy. An Alaskan resort disclosed that it will be using hydrogen for heating and transportation purposes.
The Chena Hot springs resort owner Bernie Karl agrees that it is a powerful time for the resort. Here’s why. A recently installed equipment in the hot springs will make history in the power generation sector of 21st century.
The new piece of equipment will be unveiled at the resort next month by Gov. Frank Murkowski, U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, and U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. This new equipment is the: 400 kW Chena geothermal power plant.
History and facts:
The Hot springs was discovered in 1905. The property was purchased by the Karls in 1998. This is currently the largest wintertime destination in the Fairbanks North Star Borough.
The Vision:
The goal of this project and the power plant at Chena is to make the community of the area ‘self-sustaining’ in terms of food, fuel, energy, etc.
The geothermal plant will be using the energy resources like hydrogen, hydropower, diesel, wind and solar as well as Biomass.
More on the project
By next month the resort will be using hydrogen instead of propane for cooking purposes. Hydrogen will also be used by the plant as a form of fuel for it’s cars. However, in case of vehicles, the hydrogen will be compressed. The vehicles used by the resort bring passengers and cargo from
The plan was online since 2006. The new power plant arrived on site couple of weeks ago. The plant is about the size of a big pickup truck. The construction materials of this frame involves bunch of pipes, tanks, valves and electronics section. This project came to life when the resort joined hands with United Technologies Corp.(UTC). The project costed the resort only $250,000 although the UTC invested millions of dollars in it.
I think this is a great deed done by Karl. He has more plans for the future as well. With the plant in place, the local people should not have trouble with the power, fuel and hot water. I hope Alaskans invest in more eco friendly projects like this in near future.
Image Credits: Alaskanjournal, and Alaskan report
