Geothermal, Idaho’s most Underutilized Natural Resource

1. Geothermal, Idaho’s most Underutilized Natural Resource • Idaho has 1100 geothermal wells and springs • Most counties in Southern Idaho have geothermal • 98 % of geothermal is used for irrigation • Most geothermal is in a rural remote areas • Geothermal is considered a liability in many areas - too hot to put directly on crops • One sec. ft. 450 gal. / min. • Irrigates 50 acres wheat $15,000 gross. • $100,000 catfish and Tilapia • $800,000 alligators • $12,000,000 angel fish (no one has done it yet) • My field is aquaculture so I know all kinds of aquaculture projects. There are just as many in other fields such as greenhouses, space heating, heated storage, etc. • Need to think of energy in geothermal not water. • Cost to heat river water would be $3,000,000. per month in winter. • I am wasting a lot of energy

2. GEOTHERMAL-CRITICAL WATER AREAS • Southern Idaho has geothermal because the Yellowstone hot spot was once under Southern Idaho • Geothermal is hot because it has been in the ground for such a long time. • Geothermal has slow recharge • Geothermal areas are usually critical water areas. • If people waste water when they have to pay to pump it. Can you imagine how much they will waste when it is artesian. • Every hot well should have a flow meter on it. It should be read by a water master and water rights strictly enforced. • Geothermal energy is too valuable to waste.

3. WHY GEOTHERMAL IN IDAHO IS NOT DEVELOPED • With high temperature geothermal all one has to do is generate electricity and sell the electricity. • Low temperature geothermal must be used on site. Geothermal is a small part of the project, necessary to the project, but only a small part of the project. Developing geothermal is the easy part of the project. The difficult part is building an entire business. • Low temperature geothermal will be developed by small business. The dispersed nature of the resource is not conducive to big business. • Low temp geothermal is ideal for rebuilding the rural economies where geothermal occurs.

4. WHAT MUST BE DONE TO DEVELOP A GEOTHERMAL PROJECT • Convince a bank you are not crazy • Find a site • Acquire technology to design facility • Acquire technology to build facility • Wade trough the permitting process • Acquire technology to raise product • Acquire technology to process product • Market the product. There is no stockyard • Establish a distribution system • Collect the money and pay the partner which we all have-IRS-Uncle Sam.

5. NO SUPPORT Where there is no existing industry there is no support • No trained labor force • No technology • No disease support • No infrastructure • No supplies • No young animals (Reproduction)

6. YOU HAVE TO DO IT ALL YOURSELF • In order to build a low temperature geothermal project you have to build a complete vertically integrated system. • You have to build it yourself because you are the first.

7. 500,000 LBS FISH ON ½ ACRE • Blue Catfish • Channel Catfish • Tilapia • Alligators • Sturgeon • Section 10’ X 24’ • 10,000 lbs at harvest

8. Oxygen replaced by waterfalls • Water holds little oxygen • Lack of oxygen first limiting factor • Waterfalls replace oxygen • More can be raised if product gets it’s oxygen from the air instead of the water.

9. BLUE CATFISH FEEDING

10. Tilapia • Tilapia will die below 58 degrees • Most raised in U.S. are sold in live markets • Farm price is twice the price of trout • It is a good fish • There are 10 geothermal Tilapia farms in Idaho

11. IDAHO ALLIGATORS DO YOU WANT TO WRESTLE

12. GOOD GARBAGE DISPOSAL

13. Fishing with a big pole Catfish and Tilapia are harvested 500 lbs a net four days a week. Markets want the same size of product each day of the year. Markets also want a dependable supply

14. PROCESSING WHERE THE WORK REALLY STARTS

15. PACKING

16. SHIPPING DISTRIBUTION • With beef we want it aged 20 days and we call it tenderizing. That gives 20 days for distribution. • With fish we call that tenderizing rotting. • Distribution is critical to the fish industry.

17. SALES • You can grow more than you can eat!! • There is no stockyard. • It won’t sell itself!! • Sell it or smell it. • Sales dependent on phone and service. • Don’t wait for the customer to call you.

18. COLLECTIONS • It doesn’t do any good to sell it if you don’t collect the money!!!

19. ALLIGATORS HAVE A SECOND VALUE • Sell the meat • Sell the hide • Meat and hide have equal value. • For years I would only raise items that could be sold in the seafood market because I understood the human energy required for a marketing program.

20. ADDED VALUE • If we want to build local economies use the product here rather than ship it to Europe • Sold 600 hides to Gucci in Europe last year. Their purses sell for up to $20,000. The alligator to make one sells for $300.

21. HEADS AND SKULLS SELL • There is a market for everything – You just have to sell it.

22. ELEVEN FT 4 INCHES 484 POUNDS

23. What will it take to develop low temperature geothermal • It takes two things to develop a new industry—human energy and money. Problem is young people have energy but no money. Old people have money but no energy. • Few new water rights will be issued. Old rights will be used. Their use will be changed. Water rights are in the hands of the old who have money and water but no energy. • A marriage between the old, with water and money, and the young, with energy, needs to occur. • The young have the energy and with that energy comes the optimism to believe they can do it. • The way to do this is through our Universities. Idaho needs a low temperature geothermal research program. It needs to research and demonstrate recharge, new uses and be there to assist industries develop.

24. DOES THE STATE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY • If, as a state, we continue as we have we will have a few geothermal uses start, as we have had in the past, but we will not develop the sustainable geothermal potential we have. • If, as a state, we want to develop geothermal to it’s sustainable potential, which is tremendous, we need to assist these young people with energy and optimism and the old people with money and water rights. • We need to supply some of the technology and assistance with the bureaucracy to make it easier for them to succeed.

25. MAKE IT WORK The pessimist say Idaho can not afford to fund this type of program. I was hearing this same comments from those pessimist ten years ago about a aquaculture research station being promoted. I said build the station and you will hear the sucking sound of out of state money rushing in to support the station because there was no research facility in the U. S. to do the work this station could do and it was needed. They now work on a 3 to 4 million dollar budget with only about $300,000 coming from the state. The University holdback more than covers what the state contributes. This station is a money maker for Idaho. In addition it’s research and assistance to industry is invaluable. The same would be true of a low temperature geothermal station. Put the right program together and you will develop a self sustaining program that will lead to the development of a sustainable low temperature geothermal industry in Idaho. If you want it to happen you have to lead. University of Idaho Hagerman Fish Culture Experiment Station

26. IDAHO’S MOST VALUABLE CROP • Sturgeon is another of our fish • Preferred temperature is 74 • At 58 degrees it takes 4 years to market • At 58 degrees it takes 10 yr. for caviar • Add geothermal and bring 58 degrees up to 74 degrees and • At 74 takes 2-2.5 years to mkt. • At 74 takes 6-8 yrs to mkt caviar. • We think-we haven’t done it yet-but we plan on it. • Premium caviar sells for $86. per ounce