Approval opens the window for a geothermal demonstration project
The Salton Sea, which is California’s largest lake, has been shrinking and becoming saltier due to drought and federally sanctioned contracts that transfer water from the Salton Sea region to the coast.
This area, called Red Hill Bay, is where the beach sands area exposed from the receding water are easily carried away by winds.
The federal restoration area inside Red Hill Bay encompasses about 700 acres in the part of the sea which has a huge potential for geothermal energy, said Bruce Wilcox, the Imperial Irrigation District’s environmental manager for Salton Sea restoration.
The restoration project there will place restored habitat area adjacent to geothermal development projects.
“This approval opens the window for us to move forward with this (geothermal) demonstration project,” Wilcox said.
The IID envisions that a portion of the revenue from geothermal energy will be used to continue larger restoration projects for the Salton Sea.
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