The state’s first geothermal plant in nine years will soon be built in the Eastern Sierras thanks to a deal between Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP) (and other energy providers) and Reno-based Ormat Technologies. Negotiations are underway for similar projects involving a growing number of communities across California.
Currently, geothermal energy provides a tiny fraction of the electricity used by Americans, but there’s enough power bubbling up from the seismic cracks in the Earth’s surface to generate some 16 percent of the country’s demand, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Most of the potential is on the West Coast along the edges of tectonic plates that also are responsible for earthquakes.
What’s driving the interest in geothermal energy as a renewable source is its reliability. Unlike solar panels or wind turbines, geothermal plants produce a steady, 24/7 supply of emissions-free electricity. That’s especially important as California pursues carbon neutrality by 2045, and more fossil fuel-fired power plants are taken offline.
The contract with Ormat comes out of a request for proposals jointly put out last year by Monterey Bay Community Power and Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE), two public agencies formed under the state’s Community Choice Aggregation laws.
Under the 10-year power purchase agreement signed with Ormat, MBCP and SVCE will buy 7 megawatts of electricity each. The plant’s remaining 16 megawatts will be bought by the city of Colton in San Bernardino County.
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