Centuries before prospectors flooded Ouray, Colo. in
search of silver and gold, Ute Indians discovered the town’s
true treasure: natural hot springs. Today, people flock to Ouray
for those same “sacred healing waters.” And on an
immaculate day in October, so did I, as part of a jeep caravan that
toured the tidy town’s geothermal sites in connection with
the Delta-Montrose Electric Association’s Renewable Energy
Forum and Expo in nearby Montrose, Colo. My group consisted of
investment bankers, Icelandic geothermal engineers, geologists,
geothermal developers and hot springs resort owners who had come to
learn about geothermal energy, especially in Colorado.
Geothermal energy is heat that originates deep within the earth,
which may surface naturally as geysers, seeps or hot springs. The
energy is extracted for use from hot water, steam or hot rocks.
While soaking and heating are the most common uses, geothermal
power plants have taken root in Western states, especially in
Nevada and California, site of the country’s first geothermal
power plant. And though the United States produces more geothermal
electricity than any other nation, the total accounts for only 0.5
percent of the country’s annual energy use. Nonetheless,
researchers and environmentalists think that geothermal energy
could dramatically reduce the nation’s consumption of fossil
fuels, leading to fewer carbon emissions and less dependency on
foreign oil.
As we pulled into town on a charter bus, 30
feet of upholstered bucket seats, tinted windows and
exhaust-infused corridor didn’t detract from Ouray’s
alpine beauty, cradled by the snow-capped San Juan Mountains. The
southwestern Colorado town’s economy hinges on its hot
springs; Ouray owns rights to 18, ranging in temperature from 64 to
140 degrees Fahrenheit, and several local lodges have private hot
springs with on-site soaking spots – prime destinations for
enthusiasts nationwide.
After a briefing on Ouray’s
geothermal history, we loaded into open-air jeeps, overshadowed by
layers of rose-colored rock walls that soar 4,000 feet to form a
grand amphitheater above the town’s quaint
turn-of-the-century buildings. The first stop was the Uncompahgre
Gorge – home of a world-famous ice-climbing park. Snaking
along the cliff edge, we peered below at the rising steam that
marks hot springs’ entry into Canyon Creek. One of these
springs gives life to Ouray’s geothermal crown jewel, the
mineral hot springs pool. Since 1927, the 96 to 106 degree pool
waters have helped keep the local economy afloat by drawing about
14,000 visitors a year. Hot springs also heat the pool’s gym,
restrooms and its bathhouse water, as well as several city
buildings.
As the price of oil skyrockets,
environmentalists and industry alike are optimistic about
geothermal energy’s potential. In southwest Colorado, high
temperatures found deep beneath the surface hold promise for
electricity generation, though energy at those depths is currently
out of reach. But as money is invested in deep-drilling research
and development, large-scale commercial geothermal electricity
could be possible in the region and across the West within 15
years. By 2050, geothermal production could meet 10 percent of the
country’s energy needs, according to a 2006 MIT study. But as
Ouray’s 800 residents already know, geothermal development
isn’t always a peaceful soak in the hot tub.
In the
mid-1980s, a proposal for a geothermal district heating system
divided the town. Exploratory wells were drilled with the hope that
the system could cut heating costs in half. Over 80 percent of the
respondents to a survey favored the project. However, local
businesses dependent on geothermal waters filed suit in district
court, claiming that the town’s exploratory wells diminished
their private hot springs.
“The key to the scenario
was that there was no baseline monitoring study prior to putting in
the wells,” says Pam Larsen, geologist and town mayor.
“Since nobody really knew how much water was used, neither
side’s claim could be supported by factual
documentation.” In 2004, the state of Colorado enacted the
“Geothermal Rules.” One clause says that prior to
submitting an application for a well, developers must notify all
water right owners within a half-mile of the proposed well site.
Nearly two decades later, the dispute has been settled
and the town has learned valuable lessons. “What potential
impact will geothermal development have? In Ouray, hot springs are
the lifeblood of the community,” says Wayne Goin,
hydrogeologist. “There’s a need to slow the process
down, do a baseline study and talk to all parties involved, because
when things happen fast, there are a lot of problems that happen
fast.” Ouray hasn’t ruled out a district heating system
in the future, though currently only one home uses geothermal heat.
Pagosa Springs boasts the only geothermal-heating district in
Colorado, which provides heat to 17 buildings and melts sidewalk
snow.
At the last stop of the jeep tour, we finally got
to experience the “sacred healing waters” firsthand.
Bypassing an outdoor hot springs pool, I ventured inside the
Wiesbaden Hot Springs Spa and Lodge as the tour group slithered
into the bowels of the building toward its main attraction: the
vapor cave.
In the first chamber, a spring cascades over
natural rock walls and leads soakers into the main room and its
18-inch deep pool. Water droplets glissade down the rock walls and
drip from the ceiling as steam hovers above the 108-degree water.
Thankfully, the enclosed cavern didn’t smell like rotten
eggs. Alone in the cave, I imagined Ute Indians lounging in a hot
spring down some dark canyon, at ease and energized, overcast by
shadowy cliffs.
Back with the group, I privately hoped
the charter bus would break down. Perhaps I was reluctant to trade
Ouray’s majestic mountain air for my desk at the office, the
photogenic rock amphitheater for my semi-cubed-in computer. Or
maybe it was the bus’s stale exhaust fumes that made me long
for my next visit to the vapor cave. What I do know is clearly
illustrated in Ouray’s history books: Sacred or not,
geothermal energy is a powerful resource. It alters more than mind
and body; in the not-so-distant future, it could change the energy
industry in the West.
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