Calpine plans $700 million expansion at The Geysers

<p>Calpine Corp. is planning a $700 million expansion to boost geothermal energy production in Sonoma County, building the first new power plants at The Geysers in 22 years.</p><p>The project, which would add two new power plants capable of producing 98 megawatts of electricity, will go before Sonoma County's zoning board Thursday in Santa Rosa.</p><p>“We're very excited about the opportunity to add new production capacity, particularly at a time when California is requiring more renewable energy,” said Gevan Reeves, a Calpine executive.</p><p>California has a goal of producing 33 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2020.</p><p>At full capacity, the new plants would generate enough electricity to power 70,000 homes, he said. The first unit could start producing in 2014.</p><p>Nearly 200 construction workers will be needed to build the plants and 19 workers will operate and maintain them, Reeves said.</p><p>“Sonoma County can use the additional jobs this project will provide,” he said.</p><p>Texas-based Calpine is the largest U.S. geothermal energy producer, with 15 power plants at The Geysers generating up to 725 megawatts.</p><p>Calpine's proposed expansion is located north of its existing complex, on 6,200 acres of leased private and state lands within The Geysers' “known geothermal resources area.”</p><p>The project will use reclaimed wastewater from Santa Rosa and other communities to recharge steam wells in the area, Reeves said.</p><p>The Geysers is the world's largest geothermal energy complex. Super-hot, high-pressure steam from two miles below the earth's surface is piped to power plants, where it spins turbines to generate electricity.</p><p>Calpine is seeking permits from the county's zoning board for the two 49-megawatt plants on Coldwater Creek Road and Squaw Creek Road northeast of Geyserville.</p><p>The project includes steam wells, pipelines, roads, electric transmission lines and towers.</p><p>A county report said the project will affect air quality, wildlife habitat, earthquake activity and noise, but concluded the impacts aren't significant.</p><p>The power plants are in a remote area far from homes and wouldn't be visible from public roads, the report said.</p><p>Calpine has been testing for underground heat in the area for several years. The Central California Power Agency operated a plant there until 1996, when it was shut down because it ran out of steam.</p><p>Since then, injected water has brought new life to the old Geysers steamfield, Calpine said. It has drilled or reopened 16 wells for steam production and water injection there since 2008.</p><p>Some of the wells already are connected to Calpine's existing power plants, Reeves said. More wells will be drilled when the power plants are built.</p><p>The company is talking with its utility customers about contracts to sell the power, he said.</p><p>Calpine, which reported $6.4 billion in revenue last year, operates 92 gas-fired and geothermal power plants in the U.S. and Canada, generating 28,000 megawatts.</p>