(Updated 11/6/11 with article ENERGY: Geothermal wants a level playing field by Eric Wolff at end of post.)  

Tim Kelley, CEO of the Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation, calls Imperial Valley the renewable energy epicenter of California.  He could just as easily say the region is at the very bottom of renewable energy resources in California.  My last trip to the Imperial Valley took me to Calipatria near the south end of the Salton Sea.  Every day Calipatrians view the city’s landmark, a 184 foot flag pole, the top of which is at sea level.  Calipatria is the lowest city in the western hemisphere.  The happy combination of low elevation, thin earth crust and seismic activity enables the Imperial Valley to generate 20% of all the geothermal energy produced in the United States. 

The 16 geothermal plants in the area produce over 530 megawatts of electricity most of which is sold to Southern California Edison.  It is anticipated that the Salton Sea geothermal field may contain an additional 2,000 megawatts of commercial development potential. 

None of the “hot rock” electricity is directed to San Diego due to the lack of transmission line capacity, a problem which the Sunrise Powerlink will solve.  The biggest operator with 10 facilities is CalEnergy, a MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company (part of the Warren Buffett empire).  Cal Energy’s Vonderahe-1 is one of the largest and hottest geothermal wells in the world.  It can produce nearly 2.2 million pounds of hot water in an hour, enough to power a 50-megawatt power plant.  Number two operator in the Imperial Valley is Ormat Technologies, a subsidiary of Israel-based Ormat Industries.

The Salton Sea area of Imperial County will see five new geothermal projects go on line in 2012 with a combined capacity of 239 megawatts.

In simplified terms, a geothermal production well is drilled to a depth of 5,000 to 10,000 feet to tap into reservoirs of superheated fluids.  This 400 degree Fahrenheit brine rushes to the surface where steam is “flashed” in a series of closed vessels to drive turbines to produce electricity.  The cooled-down brine is piped a distance away from the generating plant to be injected back into the earth to re-enter the reservoir to capture the earth’s heat.  Once a reservoir is located and tapped the flow of the super-hot brine is relatively steady and sustainable.  No carbon emissions are associated with the process.  Unlike solar and wind energy, geothermal energy is a baseload resource generating electricity 24/7. 

This past week San Diego was the host of the 2011 convention of the Geothermal Energy Association.  More than 2,500 attendees from 33 different states and 13 different countries came together in San Diego for the largest gathering of geothermal energy leaders in the world.  In conjunction with the event GEA published a 13 page report, Energizing Southern California’s Economy: The Economic Benefits and Potential for Geothermal Energy in Southern California.  Click here for the report.

Google has added to the body of knowledge by contributing their technical expertise and a big chunk of cash.  Enhanced Geothermal Systems Potential in Google Earth incorporates tens of thousands of new thermal data points to create the most data rich maps of U.S. geothermal resources to date.  Here’s what Fast Company thinks. 

In addition to energy to generate electricity, the vast geothermal resources in the Imperial Valley include geothermal fluids rich in several economically valuable metals including lithium, manganese and zinc.  Recently Forbes magazine outlined the current state of the opportunity, Lithium: The New California Gold Rush.

You will want to take the virtual tour of a CalEnergy geothermal facility.  Click here to begin your grand tour.

In 2008 the Imperial Irrigation District commissioned a Renewable Energy Feasibility study.  In addition to geothermal, the 118 page report evaluates solar, wind and biomass energy.

Eric Wolff in the North County Times ENERGY: Geothermal wants a level playing field.

These mudpots are located in an open field on the southeastern side of the Salton Sea. The mud is just above ambient temperature and you can walk right up to the vents. 

Where hot water is limited and hydrogen sulfide gas is present (emitting the “rotten egg” smell common to thermal areas), sulfuric acid is generated. The acid dissolves the surrounding rock into fine particles of silica and clay that mix with what little water there is to form the seething and bubbling mudpots.

Copy and paste the location to Google maps:  Davis Rd & W Schrimpf Rd, Calipatria, Imperial, California 92233.  The satellite view shows the “volcanoes” and their proximity to the Salton Sea.

Click here for a Youtube video (not mine) of the mudpots complete with glugs, blurps and bloops.

Last December I participated in a two day Discover Imperial County tour organized by the San Diego Regional Economic Development Council.  It was a first-hand opportunity to experience the remarkable energy and agriculture wealth of the Imperial Valley.  (See my posts of December 6th and 8th below).  The EDC has scheduled a one-day version of the trip for April 9th.  The $195 fee includes meals and transportation.  This is a must-do for everyone who is interested in the vast base of cleantech opportunities which exist in the Cali Baja Mega-Region. 

The Imperial Valley is an energy cornucopia.  I doubt if there is any comparable space in the world that can harvest energy from solar, geothermal, water, wind, algae, biomass and piped-in natural gas. 

To register contact Emily, Events Manager, at 619-615-2969 or en@sandiegobusiness.org

OR click here to register online.

If San Diego County were a simple geometric shape it would be a square with sides of 65 miles.  Within those four sides the resources, both natural and man-made, the intellectual heft and techno-talent are incredible.  The effectiveness of what’s in the box is magnified by what lies beyond the perimeter.  In our case it is Imperial County and Mexico.  The economic development description of this outside-the-box-thinking is the Cali Baja Bi-National Mega-Region. 

This past week I participated in a two day Discover Imperial County tour organized by the San Diego Regional Economic Development Council.  For most of us, we rarely have any contact with the sources of our food and energy.  Food comes from an aisle at Vons and electricity from a wall plug.  Just two hours from the center of our box is a different world where every resident has an up-close view of innovative technologies which make our food and energy available and affordable. 

The Imperial Valley is an energy cornucopia.  I doubt if there is any comparable space in the world that can harvest energy from solar, geothermal, water, wind, algae, biomass and piped-in natural gas.  Their ability to add new electrical production is only tempered by the timing of construction of new transmission lines.

The first stop on our tour was at the east edge of San Diego County at the Kumeyaay wind farm on the Campo Indian Reservation.  Three square miles of tribal land adjacent to Interstate 8 are home to 25 giant Gamesa wind turbines rated at 2 megawatts each.  The winds which cross the Tecate Divide provide electricity sufficient to serve more than 12,000 homes while saving 110,000 tons of green house gas emissions annually. 

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By the numbers:  Towers 70 meters (230 feet).  Blades 41.5 meters (136 feet).  The area swept by the blades of each tower = 1 1/3 acres.   Total swept area for the 25 towers = 33 1/3 acres.  (Swept area refers to the area in square feet of the rotor. It is also called the ‘capture area’.  pi x Radius² = Area Swept by the Blades).