Geothermal workshop reacquaints utilities with valuable resource
In the large family of renewable resources, it seems that geothermal is sometimes the unseen renewable, a situation Western and GeoPowering the West are setting out to change with workshops targeting public power utilities.
Southern California Public Power Agency and Northern California Power Agency each hosted a December 2003 workshop, in Pasadena and Sacramento respectively. Speakers from the Public Renewables Partnership, U.S. Department of Energy GeoPowering the West Program, and GeothermEx energy developers shared the latest news about a resource already familiar to the public power providers in attendance.
"California and Nevada get four to five percent of their electrical energy from geothermal plants, so it's not new to utility managers in these states," said GPW Technical Director Roger Hill. "Our goal was to remind utilities of the advantages of the technology and let them know about recent progress in the field."
Baseload capabilities make geothermal development attractive
Those benefits include one compelling advantage over intermittent renewables: geothermal electricity can provide baseload power since it is not limited by intermittency. The plants typically operate at capacity factors of more than 90 percent. That means that a geothermal power plant delivers close to its maximum output most of the time.
Since virtually all the nation's viable geothermal generation and direct use resources are located in the western United States, geothermal energy represents an economic development opportunity for the region. The lack of a production tax credit for development and a limited renewable energy market has kept geothermal resources from being a larger fraction of the generation portfolio. However, the same factors that have made other renewable energy sources more cost competitive—rising natural gas prices, revenue from tradable renewable credits, and national security concerns—are having the same effect on geothermal generation.
Development of geothermal resources languished in the '90s when the price of wholesale power dropped, but the current decade has seen a comeback. The current administration's move to ease restrictions on energy development on Federal lands may lead to more geothermal exploration and development. Workshop participants all agreed that a production tax credit would be necessary to reinvigorate the industry and tradable tax-credits for consumer-owned utilities are essential.
Participants get crash course in geothermal science, issues
The workshops opened with an overview of geothermal energy, geothermal resources worldwide and geothermal use presented by Earth Scientist Jim Lovekin of Geothermex and Technical Program Manager Ray Dracker. Attendees learned about environmental benefits and challenges, siting issues and policy issues pertaining to geothermal energy.
Lovekin and Dracker particularly emphasized the findings of a $6 million research program funded by the Public Interest Energy Research of the California Energy Commission through the city of San Francisco, California. The study includes evaluation of geothermal resources and transmission constraints in California and Nevada. A key conclusion of the study was that the region's geothermal capacity has the potential to conservatively expand as much as 4,000 MW. The agenda also covered economic concerns, emerging technologies and transmission issues. Studying the possibility of installing a mid-point tap on the Pacific-DC Intertie that transfers electricity between Oregon and southern California was also discussed. That pathway could be critical for carrying electricity generated by existing and planned geothermal plants.
Feedback supplies topics for future workshops
Audience participation was strong, with a large portion of the workshop devoted to answering questions from utility representatives and listening to their comments. Gaining feedback was one of Western's goals in sponsoring the workshops with GeoPowering the West and PRP.
"It was an excellent opportunity to talk to our customers and find out what they know about geothermal energy, what additional information they'd like to have, and how best to deliver this information to them," said Renewable Resource Program Manager Randy Manion.
Participants expressed an interest in learning more about the characteristics associated with geothermal energy, transmission issues and development opportunities. Many had questions about the large-scale project at the Salton Sea in the Imperial Valley. However, aggregated joint projects may be the answer for smaller municipal utilities looking to procure new renewable energy in small chunks.
Western and GeoPowering the West believed that the geothermal utility workshops set the stage for future outreach efforts in other states where a rich renewable resource hides below the surface, waiting to be tapped.
"Geothermal energy is classified as renewable generation in many states' renewable portfolio standards," said Hill. "It's important for utilities to be aware of the option and include it in their planning for renewable resources."
Western and GeoPowering the West are planning a series of geothermal workshops and Web casts specifically for utility resource decision makers as a result of these two past workshops in California. The geothermal industry will be included as participants in these proceedings. Utilities interested in learning more about these workshops and geothermal power opportunities should visit the PRP Web site for more information.