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Australian investors dreaming big on geothermal development at the Salton Sea

Australian investors dreaming big on geothermal development at the Salton Sea Hudson Ranch I geothermal power plant, March 2012, Salton Sea, California/ U.S. (source: EnergySource)
Alexander Richter 5 May 2016

Ambitious plans by Australian investors, see the development of a geothermal power plant of up to 250 MW, with expected start of operation in 2020.

Writing today about the end of one of Australia’s prominent geothermal companies, we also reported about the interest of Australian investors into the development of a large scale geothermal power project at the Salton Sea in California.

The developer, Controlled Thermal Resources, recently received a permit for the development of a plant with up to 250 MW in power generation capacity.

An article in the local news outlet The Desert Sun, provides a great overview on the background of the project and its investors, following a press tour of the potential site for the project.

With 11 geothermal power plants in the region and huge geothermal potential, only one plant has been developed since 2000.

While earlier plants mostly stayed under 50 MW in capacity, the investors of Controlled Thermal Resources are planning big, believing in the economies of scale. This, so the article, “would allow the company to sell the electricity at a relatively low price, which in turn could make a bank more likely to offer a loan.”

The developer plans to start drilling exploration wells already this fall and expects construction of the actual plant to start by 2018 with a start of operation date in 2020.

This is a rather ambitious time plan and one will have to see if the company succeeds where many have failed so far.

Read the full article for a lot more details, by clicking on the link below.

Source: The Desert Sun