Energy summit begins today
HOLTVILLE — For anybody interested in renewable energy development or is already involved and desires to commit further, the 10th annual Renewable Energy and Water Summit will be held at the Imperial Palms Hotel & Resort at Barbara Worth from today through Friday.
The summit opens at 12:15 p.m. and is hosted by the Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation with the title sponsor being the Imperial Irrigation District. There will be several tours departing the Imperial Palms and it is recommended to preregister as space is limited, noted Tim Kelley, IVEDC president/ chief executive officer. The first tours are scheduled at 12:30 p.m., beginning with the 55-megawatt Featherstone Plant. Also leaving at that time will be a tour of Tenaska Imperial Solar West, which produces up to 150 megawatts with photovoltaic solar power. And at 12:45 p.m. will be the IID the Battery Energy Storage System tour.
Kelley remarked IVEDC spends considerable time and expense to market the region and one of the greater challenges can be persuading businessmen to visit but once here IVEDC can help with site selection, financing and workforce training. The Valley has the potential to produce up to 25,000 megawatts of renewable energy and as California is poised to increase the Renewable Portfolio Standard to 33 percent by 2020, the Valley stands to be a major contributor to help the state achieve RPS goals.
Much of the 300 anticipated summit visitors are expected from outside the Valley, including several Western states and perhaps a few from the Midwest, noted Brawley Mayor Sam Couchman and an 8minutenergy director of community relations. Other companies represented are Controlled Thermal Resources, Ormat Technologies, California Ethanol and Power, San Diego Gas & Electric, Procopio and Southern Power Company. Andy Horne, deputy chief executive officer of Imperial County, noted bio-mass energy will also be discussed and there are already two plants in the area, Mesquite Lake Water and Power, LLC and Imperial Valley Resource Recovery Company.
Total renewables investment in Imperial County is close $10 billion, Horne maintained. There are approximately 20 geothermal plants, and they are the largest property tax payers, contributing $10 million in revenue.
Geothermal also produces the most power with 700 megawatts. But solar is the largest installed capacity with 1,000 megawatts but it can only produce in daylight. And the large Ocotillo wind mill project produces 265 megawatts, he added.
Bruce Wilcox, assistant secretary for Salton Sea Policy, California Natural Resource Agency, and a summit presenter, noted that given the state’s ambitious goal for renewables, the area of the southern Salton Sea is potentially one of the biggest sources. “It behooves us to look at the problems of the Salton Sea habitat, air quality and see what synergistic projects the summit could develop in that area,” said Wilcox. “We’ll talk about California’s plans for Salton Sea management and how that plays into activities planned for the Salton Sea.”
Restoration his agency is planning is compatible with Salton Sea renewable development so it advisable not to inhibit any geothermal development. “This is one of the premier conferences and brings together a lot of people with innovative ideas and its right in the backyard of one of the largest geothermal developments in the U.S.”