That kind of expansion would require unprecedented innovation from an industry that has been stagnant for decades, with none of the significant cost declines or technological improvements that have spurred the growth of solar and wind power.īut geothermal advocates and entrepreneurs are hopeful. Under that scenario, geothermal power plants, mostly in the West, could generate 16% of the nation’s electricity. geothermal capacity could grow from 2,500 megawatts today to 60,000 megawatts by 2050 - or as much as 120,000 megawatts in a scenario in which high natural gas prices make geothermal more competitive. The Department of Energy released a report last year finding that if technology improves, U.S. Last year the department announced $140 million in research and development funding for the University of Utah, which operates a field laboratory to test new techniques. ![]() The federal Department of Energy is supporting those technology efforts through an initiative called FORGE, or Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy. (Graphic by Jon Schleuss / Los Angeles Times) That number could rise substantially if energy companies are able to develop new technologies that allow them to exploit deeper, lower-temperature geothermal reservoirs that currently aren’t economically feasible. ![]() Geological Survey estimated in 2008 that California has nearly 15,000 megawatts of geothermal potential - nearly one-fifth of the total capacity of all power plants in the state today. Some experts say more than a doubling is possible. But regulators tasked with charting California’s path to 100% clean energy are now contemplating a doubling of geothermal capacity on the state’s main power grid by 2030. State lawmakers have rejected proposals in recent years to require more geothermal power. Many of those facilities opened in the 1970s and 1980s and have been churning out climate-friendly electricity ever since. The California Energy Commission lists 43 geothermal plants in the state, most of them clustered at the Geysers complex north of the Bay Area and in the Imperial Valley. Some of the strongest underground reservoirs are in California due to the state’s location along the seismological “Ring of Fire,” where the tectonic plates of the Pacific Ocean and North America collide. geothermal resources are located in the West. Geothermal plants have traditionally been limited to naturally occurring “hot spots” where drilling rigs can access high-temperature fluid relatively close to the Earth’s surface. This company may have a breakthroughĪ geothermal power company says it can make California’s Salton Sea the first major source of U.S. Power purchase contracts are typically necessary before large renewable energy projects can get built, because they make it possible for developers to secure financing for construction.Ĭontrolled Thermal Resources is negotiating additional contracts for power and lithium sales to fill out the 140-megawatt project, Chief Executive Rod Colwell said.Īfter seven years working on Hell’s Kitchen, “we’re very excited about the next three years of actually delivering the project,” he said.Ĭlimate & Environment Lithium will fuel the clean energy boom. The Imperial Irrigation District agreed to buy 40 megawatts of geothermal energy from Hell’s Kitchen over a 25-year contract the utility valued at $627 million. ![]() The company hopes to create a major new domestic source of the mineral, which is a key ingredient used in batteries for electric cars and energy storage. The second new plant is planned for Imperial County, near the southern shore of the Salton Sea, with commercial operation expected in 2023.Ĭontrolled Thermal Resources, the Australian developer of the so-called Hell’s Kitchen geothermal project, also plans to extract lithium from the hot, salty underground fluid that will be used to make electricity. It’s due to come on line in 2021, nine years after the state’s last geothermal plant opened. The rest of the facility’s capacity is already under contract to Colton, a city in San Bernardino County, under a deal signed last year.
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