By MIKE FERGUSON

Baker City Herald

Most geothermal wells have to practically scratch the Earth’s core before they can bring warm water and the energy that accompanies it to the surface.

Not so the geothermal well being dug at Behlen Country this week. That well, called a geo-energy single well system, will help warm and cool portions of the Baker City livestock equipment manufacturing plant despite being only between 200 and 300 feet deep.

That’s because it relies on new technology from China the same technology that will keep spectators and athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics comfortable.

Lloyd Song, a senior analyst with China’s Ever Source Science andamp; Technology Development Co. (known as HYY), was in town this week to help Behlen officials with America’s first geo-energy single well system. His company developed the patented renewable technology that collects warm water; pumps it into an environmental room, where the heat and cool air is released; then pumps it back into the ground.

andquot;It’s a normal well with a special patent device,andquot; Song said. andquot;It is a shallow well, but the energy is sufficient, and it’s resolved the pollution problemsandquot; that have plagued other single-well geothermal systems.

While the technology is new in this country, it’s becoming fairly routine in China. Even the secretary-general of the Communist Party has visited HYY offices, Song said. Officials with the U.S. Department of Energy have also paid visits, he added.

Behlen Mfg. and HYY are involved in a joint venture in China, and Song’s trip this week marked his third visit to Behlen.

andquot;We’ve established a good working relationship,andquot; he said with a smile.

When it’s done, the 10-inch-wide well andquot;will look like a normal well,andquot; Song said. The water that it pumps to the surface will be replaced right after it’s delivered from the ground using a closed-loop system.

The local Behlen Country plant, which manufactures livestock panels, stock watering tanks and other equipment for the ranching community, is counting on the new system to produce annual energy savings between 50 and 70 percent, said plant manager Clint Morrison.

In the wintertime, the local plant spends about $22,000 per month on natural gas, and about $6,000 monthly in the summer. The new well will bring the winter bills more in line with the summer bills, Morrison said.

Another benefit for the Baker City plant will be the construction of a new building to house the environmental equipment for the new heating and air-conditioning units. The 5,400-square-foot building will also be home to the plant’s powder-coating operation, Morrison said. That will remove a 120-degree operation from the main plant and make everyone a little cooler in the summer, he said.

It’ll also offer Behlen’s powder-coating operation a more controlled environment, which makes the process more predicable and more uniform.

Initially, only the plant office and the new environmental room will be heated and cooled by geothermal energy. But the well should produce enough energy to one day cover the entire plant, said Don Green, Behlen’s Director of Environmental, Health and Safety.

andquot;Everyone’s pretty excited about this,andquot; Morrison said. andquot;Behlen’s very concerned about the environment, and this system is 100 percent renewable. The technology is so new that we get to be the first in the U.S.andquot;

Financial incentives from the Oregon Department of Energy have proven helpful, Green said, and helped make Behlen’s only Oregon plant the natural candidate for the pilot project.

andquot;There’s going to be a return on our investment,andquot; he said. andquot;The incentives in Oregon for energy systems is part of the reason for that. Oregon is a lot more progressive than a lot of other states.andquot;

If the Baker City pilot project goes well, Behlen plans to dig more geothermal wells, including at company headquarters in Columbus, Neb., Green said.

andquot;This could be a very useful technology,andquot; he said as he made his way from the well site back into the warmth of the plant. andquot;We are both proud and excited.andquot;