USA, California: Calpine Reports The Geysers Operations Have Recovered to 3/4 Capacity After Wildfire

Calpine Updates Wildfire Impact on The Geysers Geothermal Power Facilities (News Release)

Calpine Corporation announced yesterday that its geothermal power generation facilities at The Geysers in Lake and Sonoma Counties, California, have reopened to all employees after having been affected by a wildfire earlier this month. The Geysers had been operating with only essential personnel for the past two weeks due to the access restrictions imposed by CalFire as they fought to contain the Valley Fire. The Geysers is now generating about 540 megawatts of power for our customers.

Calpine reports that all employees and contractors were safely evacuated when the fire threatened The Geysers and that all the employees are accounted for. The focus now turns to assuring the continuing safety of those who have returned to work and to supporting employees whose homes and families have been impacted by this devastating fire. Calpine has implemented multiple employee assistance programs and have established an employee support fund, seeded with a $100,000 contribution from Calpine, wherein all donations will be matched by the company.

Regarding specific impacts to the facilities, as was previously reported, five of fourteen facilities sustained damage to ancillary structures such as cooling towers and communication/electric deliverability infrastructure. The unaffected facilities have continued to operate to varying degrees throughout this event. As of today, the facilities are collectively producing approximately three-quarters of The Geysers’ normal operating capacity, sending approximately 540 megawatts of renewable geothermal energy to the grid.

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