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Geothermal to be key source for green public power agency in California

Alexander Richter 20 Dec 2013

The new public utility Sonoma Clean Power plans to offer mostly geothermal power as part of its ambitious clean power program offered to customers in Sonoma County, California.

We reported on the new renewable energy-focused public power agency, Sonoma Clean Power, here before.

The utility has now announced that for now it will source its entire supply from the geothermal power plants near the Sonoma and Lake counties in California. While clearly not a model for everywhere, the concept of the utility is quite interesting.

It will provide a clean power option to its local customer base. The CleanStart product that will “offer customers a 33 percent renewable-energy mix and a one-third reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, compared with conventional service” from the other big utility in the region. The program is expected to start in May 2014.

“The agency plans to ultimately ramp up in coming years to half-renewable sources, a strict definition that excludes some sources like hydroelectric power.” Pricing for the power provided will be very competitive and cheaper than that of the other big utility serving the market.

As part of its another program Sonoma CleanPower goes further. The EverGreen program would entail customers paying “an additional premium of around 3.5 cents per kilowatt-hour under the proposed framework”, but being able to source all its power from renewable sources.  Geothermal power from the Geysers area would be the main source of power for this particular program

Source: North Bay Business Journal