OFS Utilities

OFS Geothermal Utility Our mission is to provide courteous, responsive, cost-effective service

Geothermal uses naturally occurring hot water for both utility and research purposes.

History

In the early 1980s NMSU's Geothermal program began with test wells being drilled near and around the base of "A" mountain. It was determined that non-potable water with temperatures in excess of 140°F existed in this area. With a grant from the Department of Energy, Physical Science Laboratory (PSL) began designing an elaborate piping system to bring the water to the surface, extract the heat and pump the cooler water back into the aquifer. Plate and Frame heat exchangers were used to heat potable domestic water due to their efficiencies. The heated water was then sent to the main campus through a pre-insulated Transite pipe. Once on main campus, the water was circulated in a loop to provide hot water to the dorms. This system was in use until 2003 when a study was done by OFS' Central Utility Plant. It was determined that the cost/BTU of steam was far less than that of Geothermal water and the system was taken out of service.

New uses

Along about the time the Geothermal system was taken out of service for the campus, OFS was approached by Dr. Bernd Leinauer, Associate Professor and Extension Turfgrass Specialist with the Department of Extension Plant Sciences about using the Geothermal water, which contains a high concentration of salt, for turf grass research. Dr. Leinauer planned to test the effects of saline water on different grasses. The result of his groups continuing research efforts can be seen at http://turf.nmsu.edu . It was decided that OFS would support this research and design on a system to cool the Geothermal water to an acceptable temperature was initiated. A 13,000 gallon square cooling tank was constructed at the foot of the 4 million gallon domestic water storage tank and the rest is history.