Friday, August 17, 2012

USA, California:

Lithium Extraction Bill Heads to Governor, Awaits Signature (Imperial Valley News)

V. Manuel Pérez
Yesterday, a regulatory streamlining bill authored by Asm. V. Manuel Pérez (D-Coachella) passed its final hurdle in the state legislature and now heads to the Governor.

Relating to lithium extraction in geothermal technologies, AB 2205 will help spur business creation in new industries tied to geothermal energy. The bill makes a regulatory clarification so that existing regulations applying to geothermal plants also apply to new clean processes that extract beneficial materials from geothermal brine in closed loop systems at these plants. These processes did not exist when the regulatory framework for geothermal energy was developed, resulting in ambiguity that has impeded the build out of this emerging industry.