Geothermal industry cautiously optimistic on future
HOLTVILLE — Announcements of new projects and a revived optimism regarding the future of the geothermal industry took center stage in the second half of panels at the 11th annual Imperial Valley Energy Summit.
As part of the discussion of the “Geothermal Energy and Its Regulatory Environment” panel, Paul Thomsen, Director of Policy and Business Development for Ormat took the opportunity to announce his company’s latest efforts to develop additional geothermal with the construction of the new Truckhaven Geothermal Plant near Salton City.
The project is expected to move forward after finalizing a power purchase agreement with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power for 25-megawatts of power. Thomsen added this project is expected to be the first aircooled geothermal plant.
Thomsen noted that in an internal study done by Ormat, the company found geothermal provides a better longterm value than intermittent renewable energy sources such as solar due to its flexibility, capacity and value. He said these findings bolstered Ormat’s confidence in the future of the energy resource.
“The market and the need are there for flexible resources. It has to happen,” Thomsen said.
Jim McIntosh, the chief executive officer of GeoGenCo, also took the opportunity to speak about his company’s current efforts to develop a 50-megawatt plant in the Salton Sea known geothermal resource area, out of which 150-megawatts are expected to be purchased by the Imperial Irrigation District.
Due to some innovation in its design and operation, McIntosh said the GeoGenCo plant is expected to use less than half of the water most geothermal plants use. Like Thomsen, he expressed confidence in the future prospects of geothermal. He attributed his optimism to the fact it’s a baseload energy resource that can be crucial to the state in addressing the ramp-up of power needed when the sun sets and the energy output of solar power declines.
“There is always room for more baseload (energy),” McIntosh said.
On a similar note, the principal engineer of Controlled Thermal Resources Jason Czapla gave an overview of CTR’s current project to develop a 275-megawatt plant in the southeastern corner of the Salton Sea. Czapla also discussed how CTR is collaborating with the state to develop its plant while taking into consideration the habitat projects and berms that will be built in the area as part of the Salton Sea mitigation project.
Another factor giving developers renewed confidence in the viability of geothermal is the recent settlement agreement reached between the IID and the California Independent System Operator regarding the IID’s ability to export power outside its service area.
As a result of the agreement, CAISO will invest in the district S-Line, which is expected to give IID the ability to have an outlet for the untapped resource of geothermal in the Imperial Valley. IID Energy Manager Vicken Kasarjian said the district is currently finalizing its plans for what comes next in the process of continuing growth of geothermal in the region. “These are exciting times to be the linchpin for the state of California to deliver on its promise,” Kasarjian said, referring to geothermal having the potential to help the state meet its renewable energy portfolio standard of 50 percent renewable power by 2030.