Further geothermal development seen as crucial for Salton Sea
Motel at Salton Sea's East shore, Imperial Valley, California (source: flickr/Omar Omar, creative commons)
Francisco Rojas
16 Sep 2014
The Salton Sea is home to one of the world's most potent geothermal reservoirs. Geothermal might be the best option for economic development in the region.
Following the defeat of SB 1139 in California that aimed at giving a bigger role to geothermal in the state, there is uncertainty for the economic development of the region. The Salton Sea is limited regarding its economic development and geothermal is seen as one of the few possibilities to make it happen.
According to local news, “the Salton Sea is home to one of the world’s most potent geothermal reservoirs, developing that energy is expensive — at least compared to other renewable energy sources, including wind and solar. The result is that geothermal development by the lake has come to a standstill. Only one new plant has been built since 2000, and plans for additional facilities have either stalled or been scrapped.”
The same source quotes Randy Keller, director of development for CalEnergy saying “The Salton Sea resource is one of the hottest resources in the world — definitely in North America, but arguably the world,” While new technologies such as hydro-shearing can make geothermal energy production viable in more places, the Salton Sea has enough potential that even with current technology, is a very interesting option to boost economic development and expand on green energy generation.
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Source: The Desert Sun Website
