Imperial Valley Geothermal Project is a complex of eleven
geothermal power stations located in the
Salton Sea Geothermal Field, along the southeastern shore of the
Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline body of water in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough that stretches to the Gulf ...
in the
Imperial Valley
, photo = Salton Sea from Space.jpg
, photo_caption = The Imperial Valley below the Salton Sea. The US-Mexican border runs diagonally across the lower left of the image.
, map_image = Newriverwatershed-1-.jpg
, map_caption = Map of Imperial ...
of
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. It is the second largest geothermal field in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
after
The Geysers
The Geysers is the world's largest geothermal field, containing a complex of 18 geothermal power plants, drawing steam from more than 350 wells, located in the Mayacamas Mountains approximately north of San Francisco, California.
Geysers produce ...
in
Northern California.
Description
Parts of
Imperial Valley
, photo = Salton Sea from Space.jpg
, photo_caption = The Imperial Valley below the Salton Sea. The US-Mexican border runs diagonally across the lower left of the image.
, map_image = Newriverwatershed-1-.jpg
, map_caption = Map of Imperial ...
lie atop the
Salton Sea Geothermal Field, 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 Salton Sea (a saline lake) dries up.
About 403 MW is generated by the existing power plants, ten of which are owned by
CalEnergy and one by
EnergySource.
Geothermal power and lithium extraction
In 2016, the
Australian firm
Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR) 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.
General Motors announced a strategic partnership with CTR in 2021 to secure a local supply of lithium. The majority of the battery-grade lithium hydroxide and carbonate for the Ultium battery will come from this plant.
Geothermal power stations
This is a table of all constituent geothermal power stations.
[
]
See also
* List of geothermal power stations in the United States
Geothermal power stations in the United States are located exclusively within the Western United States where geothermal energy potential is highest. The highest concentrations are located in the Mayacamas Mountains and Imperial Valley of Cali ...
* List of power stations in California
This is a list of power stations in the U.S. state of California that are used for utility-scale electricity generation. This includes baseload, peaking, and energy storage power stations, but does not include large backup generators. , Calif ...
References
External links
{{Generating stations in California, state=autocollapse
Buildings and structures in Imperial County, California
Geothermal power stations in California