Newcastle Utah small-scale geothermal power development project - exploratory drilling (RI-252)

By: R. E. Blackett

As part of a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored program to assist locating a production well to supply a proposed, small-scale geothermal power plant, two exploratory (thermal-gradient) boreholes were drilled in the fall of 2001 on private lands belonging to Milgro Newcastle, Inc., a floral greenhouse operator, near Newcastle, Utah.

This publication details the measured temperature profiles and the drill cuttings of the exploratory hole. Drill cuttings were examined to attempt to determine relative porosity and permeability of the valley-fill alluvial units. Lithologic logs based upon examination of the drill cuttings and drillers’ reports, however, give only a very generalized view of the stratigraphy of the boreholes. Moreover, because samples were collected at about 3-m (10-ft) intervals, there is always some mixing of lithologies throughout the sample interval. Because of the depositional environment of the valley-fill units in the Escalante Valley, lithologic breaks are subtle and difficult to identify in cuttings.

Other Information:
Published: 2004
Pages: 8 p. + 21 p. appendix
Location: Iron County
Media Type: Paper Publication