Assumes a project build-out of up to 1,400 MW over 10 years
“The renewable energy potential around and currently beneath the Salton Sea, including an estimated 2,000 MW of untapped geothermal energy, can provide the state and its ratepayers with a diverse resource stream of baseload and intermittent energy that will promote grid reliability and serve as the funding and implementation springboard for restoration,” said IID General Manager Kevin Kelley, reading from a statement.
The Salton Sea renewable energy initiative calls on Imperial County to designate the area as a renewable energy zone. Moreover, it calls on a policy that directs the state grid to construct an energy transmission line from Devers in Riverside County to the Imperial Valley Substation. It also calls on the state to allow for Purchase Power Agreements from the Salton Sea resource area.
“Assuming a project build-out of up to 1,400 MW over 10 years and a planning horizon of 30 years, the cost of this public-private approach is valued at $3 billion, which is largely derived from new generation, or roughly a third of the state’s own preferred restoration alternative,” he said.
The geothermal facilities around the Salton Sea will be a feature of a GRC Field Trip after the GRC Annual Meeting & GEA Expo in Las Vegas, Sept. 29-Oct. 3.
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