250 MW Salton Sea geothermal project receives approval for site lease agreement
The Imperial Irrigation District has approved a 1,900 acre lease agreement with Controlled Thermal Resources, for the company’s 250 MW geothermal project in the Salton Sea. Now the California Energy Commission needs to approve, which can take an additional 18 months.
As reported locally, Controlled Geothermal Resources has received an important approval on a lease agreement already in 2016.
The company is planning a large-scale geothermal plant, with an initial 250 MW capacity on the southern shore of the Salton Sea lake, near Calipatra.
The Imperial Irrigation District’s board of directors voted earlier this week to approve a 1,900-acre lease agreement with the company. When successful, the facility would generate five times as much electricity as any of the 11 existing geothermal plants in the area.
The proposal still needs to be approved by the California Energy Commission. It also faces the same obstacle that has plagued all geothermal development in the region: high up-front costs.
The company now plans to begin drilling test wells and explore the site. Rod Colwell, Controlled Thermal Resources’ CEO, expects that the California Energy Commission approval process will last 18 months, but remains hopeful his company can finish construction of the plant by 2020. The planned geothermal power plant is the first project of the company, but it already plans to scale up from the initial 250 MW to 375 MW.
Source: Desert Sun