Tuesday, February 25, 2014

USA, California:

Development of Hudson Ranch II Geothermal Plant Suspended (Imperial Valley Press)

The Niland Mud Volcanoes with the Hudson Ranch I
(John L. Featherstone) geothermal power plant in the background.
EnergySource has halted development of its Hudson Ranch II geothermal energy project near Niland.

The plant was approved for 49.9 MWe. But, when developers drilled a couple of production wells, they discovered that their output would fall short of what they anticipated.

“We drilled a couple of sub-commercial wells,” said Vince Signorotti, vice president of resource and real estate assets.

Production wells at the adjacent Hudson Ranch I can produce roughly double their requirements, according to Signorotti.

“Maybe we got a bit spoiled. We thought all wells would come in at that size,” he said.

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