The agenda is being finalized for the plenary session discussions for the geothermal energy community
Primrose Ballroom - Palm Springs Convention Center, Palm Springs, California, USA
If you want to hear the latest on the geothermal industry, or contribute to the debate, then the Opening Plenary Session is the place to be! Full agenda.........
Confirmed speakers and panelists include:
- Prijandaru Effendi (Indonesian Geothermal Association)
- Angelina Galiteva (California Independent Systems Operator Board - CAISO)
- Sue Hamm (Department of Energy)
- Amanda Hansen (California Natural Resources Agency - CNRA)
- Henry Martinez (Imperial Irrigation District)
- Laura McDonald (Sunrise Strategies Group)
- Will Pettitt (Executive Director, Geothermal Resources Council - GRC)
- Charles Reinhold (Electric Resource Strategies)
- Alex Richter (IGA President)
- Andy Sabin (US Navy and President, GRC)
- Kyle Snyder (Ormat)
- Paul Thomsen (Ormat and GRC Policy Committee Chair)
- Jon Trujillo (CalEnergy and President-Elect, GRC)
- Jonathan Weisgall (Berkshire Hathaway Energy)
- V. John White (Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies)
- Karen Christopherson (Women in Geothermal - WING)
- State of the Industry
Moderator: V. John White, Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies, Sacramento
Geothermal energy is well positioned to be a vibrant part of the renewable energy mix for California, the USA and the World. It is a sustainable, low-carbon resource that provides critical baseload power, which can underpin the growth of intermittent sources, such as solar and wind power. In addition, geothermal energy also can serve as a fundamental fuel source in energy portfolios, with other baseload sources such as energy storage, biofuels and hydropower.
Significantly, California is a leader in the world-wide energy transition to renewable power, with ambitious targets for its Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and Greenhouse-Gas (GHG) emissions. California is also the world’s leading supplier of geothermal energy, has large resources available for development, and has established targets for meeting its power needs over the next 10 years that include installation of 1700 MW of new geothermal net power generation. Given this, California serves as a key guide for how the rest of the USA and World can transition to the new energy economy with geothermal as a central component of the energy mix. How does the geothermal industry navigate this transition and overcome the hurdles that will allow a successful development of these power needs? - Transmission
Moderator: Laura McDonald, Sunrise Strategies Group, San Diego
The distance to viable transmission for interconnection, costs to intertie, including upgrades and wheeling costs, have long been an engineering and economic concern for geothermal projects located in remote areas across the western USA. For example, a 230-kV line can easily cost $1 million per mile not including mitigation for archeological or biological resources. The upgrades for communication and security also add to the costs of the new transmission as well as existing infrastructure to bring it into compliance with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and NERC standards. Wheeling charges can add substantially to the operating and maintenance costs for the power plant. This panel will address the various elements of transmission from the developer, engineering, utility and system operator’s perspective.
