Imperial Valley Geothermal Project

Imperial Valley Geothermal Project, also known as the Salton Sea Geothermal Field, is a complex of eleven geothermal power stations located along the southeastern shore of the Salton Sea in the Imperial Valley of California. It is the second largest geothermal field in the United States after The Geysers in Northern California.

Imperial Valley Geothermal Project
The J.M. Leathers Geothermal Power Station
Official name	Imperial Valley Geothermal Project
Country	United States
Location	Near Calipatria Imperial County, California
Coordinates	33°09′48″N 115°37′00″W
Status	Operational
Commission date	1982
Owner(s)	CalEnergy (86.4%) EnergySource (13.6%)
Operator(s)	CalEnergy
Geothermal power station
Type	Dry steam
Power generation
Units operational	14 units (11 power stations)
Units planned	1 unit
Nameplate capacity	432.3 MW [1]
Annual net output	1,741 GWh (2018) [1]

Description

Imperial Valley lies atop a region of high geothermal energy with an estimated 2,950 MW of geothermal potential. Of that total, 2250 MW are currently developable, while the remaining 700 MW would become available as the lake shrinks in size.[2] About 403 MW is generated by the existing power plants, ten of which are owned by CalEnergy and one by EnergySource.[3]

Hell’s Kitchen Geothermal Project

In 2016, the Australian firm Controlled Thermal Resources announced plans to build a 140 MW geothermal power plant and a lithium extraction facility capable of producing 15,000 tons (13,600 tonnes) by 2023 and 75,000 tons (68,000 tonnes) by 2027. The company hopes to create a major new domestic source of the mineral, which is a key ingredient used in batteries for electric cars and energy storage. The project is expected to be operational by 2023.[4][5]

Geothermal power stations

This is a table of all constituent geothermal power stations.[6][1]

Name	Units	Type	Status	Capacity (MW)	Owner	Commissioned
A.W. Hoch	1	Dry steam	Operational	45.5	CalEnergy	1989
CE Turbo	1	Dry steam	Operational	11.5	CalEnergy	2000
Hell's Kitchen	?	Dry steam	Planned	140	CT Resources	(2023)
J.J. Elmore	1	Dry steam	Operational	45.5	CalEnergy	1989
J.L. Featherstone	1	Dry steam	Operational	55	EnergySource	March 2012
J.M. Leathers	1	Dry steam	Operational	45.5	CalEnergy	1990
Salton Sea 1	1	Dry steam	Operational	10	CalEnergy	1982
Salton Sea 2	3	Dry steam	Operational	20	CalEnergy	1990
Salton Sea 3	1	Dry steam	Operational	54	CalEnergy	1989
Salton Sea 4	1	Dry steam	Operational	47.5	CalEnergy	1996
Salton Sea 5	1	Dry steam	Operational	58.3	CalEnergy	2000
Vulcan	2	Dry steam	Operational	39.6	CalEnergy	1985

See Also

• List of geothermal power stations in the United States
• List of power stations in California

References

1. "Electricity Data Browser - Salton Sea Complex (11 plants)". www.eia.gov. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
2. "The Shrinking Salton Sea and its Impact on Geothermal Development" (PDF). geothermal.org. 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
3. "EnergySource's First Geothermal Plant in Imperial Valley Lauded for Creating Jobs, Boosting the Economy, Delivering Clean Energy to 50,000 Homes; Second Plant to Follow". www.businesswire.com. May 18, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
4. "Lithium will fuel the clean energy boom. This company may have a breakthrough". Los Angeles Times. October 14, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
5. "California needs clean energy after sundown. Is the answer under our feet?". Los Angeles Times. January 22, 2020. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
6. "The Shrinking Salton Sea and its Impact on Geothermal Development" (PDF). geothermal.org. 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020.

External links