KLAMATH FALLS (AP) — Geothermal water naturally heated to up to 200 degrees has warmed the Oregon Institute of Technology for years, but plans now are to use the subterranean water to meet all campus power needs.

It would require drilling a well to find even hotter water and building a power station.

Engineers set off 68 dynamite charges last month to test fault lines on and near the campus, and geophones recorded sound to provide information about how the underground fault line is positioned.

The results will help determine the best position for a mile-deep well, which would use geothermal steam to power the proposed 1.2-megawatt power plant, roughly half again what the university uses now.

The cost would be between $5 million and $6 million, said Toni Boyd of the OIT Geo Heat Center. So far, OIT has about $2 million in state and federal grant and bond money.

Any surplus energy can be sold on the grid, Boyd said.

He said the university plans to apply for another federal grant. An environmental assessment is due May 16 to look at hydrology, geology, water quality, air quality and noise to evaluate possible harm to immediate surroundings during construction.

The assessment must be completed and public notice given before drilling can start, Boyd said. He said the process could last four to six months and that drilling would take about 30 days.

In addition to a deep well for a high-temperature generator, a low-temperature generator would be installed, using existing water used to heat the campus.

Both generators would use the steam to turn a turbine, generating power, before cooling and condensing the steam and returning the water to the cascading system or injecting it back into the geothermal reservoir.

Savings is estimated at about $500,000 annually.

The plants also would be used as a teaching and hands-on realistic laboratory for OIT students and serve as an example to private businesses interested in similar projects.