On October 9, Gov. Jerry Brown approved a bill related to restoring southern California’s Salton Sea and announced plans would begin to take shape (desertsun.com). “The Salton Sea has a long and storied history in California and with
these key restoration projects, the state is helping protect air
quality, while maintaining a viable water supply in the region,” Brown
said.
The Salton Sea Authority and Natural Resources Agency are now
required to study restoration projects. A.B. 1095 requires, “on or
before March 31, 2016, the Natural Resources Agency to submit to the
Legislature a list of shovel-ready, as defined, Salton Sea restoration
projects, including information regarding project costs and project
completion timelines” (PDF). “Shovel-ready” is defined as projects in either the final planning, environmental review or permitting phase.
“There are about 2,000 MW of potential geothermal
energy in the Salton Sea region, in the southern part of the Salton Sea
area, and as we have now set a goal for renewable energy for 50 percent
renewable energy we are now looking how geothermal can also play a
role,” press quoted Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella) who
wrote the bill (kesq.com).
State Sen. Ben Hueso had provided Commissioner of the California
Energy Commission David Hochschild with a tour of the Salton Sea earlier
in the month. “I wasn’t aware that the geothermal here on the Salton
Sea is actually the best in the whole state,” Hochschild told press (ivpressonline.com).
“I knew it was good, but didn’t know it was that good and there is
still a lot more potential to exploit that resource and produce energy
from so it was good to get to see that up close.” As part of the tour,
the Commissioner visited the Hudson Ranch geothermal plant operated by
GEA members Energy Source.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/10/geothermal-visual-support-for-salton-sea-in-california-taking-shape.html
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