THE GEYSERS Renewable, Geothermal Energy Mike Rogers

THE GEYSERS
Renewable, Geothermal Energy
Mike Rogers, Senior Vice President
Calpine Geothermal Operations
Impact Sonoma
Energy: Plugging Into Sonoma County’s Future
18 October 2012
Geothermal Fields: Resources (Worldwide)
Plate boundaries (associated with volcanic activity; seismicity)
Pacific “Ring of Fire”: 75% of volcanoes (452); 90% of earthquakes
San Andreas Fault,
California
Fourpeaked Volcano
Alaska
Eyjafjallajokull,
Iceland
9.2
1964
9.0
1952
9.0
2011
9.1-9.3
2004
9.5
1960
Mount Merapi, Java
Misti Volcano, Peru
2
The Geysers: World’s Largest Geothermal Field
3
Early Explorers at The Geysers
Pre-1800s: Wilderness and Native Americans
1847: “Gates of Hades” discovered by William
Bell Elliott
4

1848-1880
The Geysers Resort Tourism - the
“8th Wonder of the World”
5
Early Visitors to The Geysers
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First Electricity Generated at The Geysers
1922
1954
1960
First electrical generation from geothermal steam in the U.S. - 35 kW
to power the Geysers Resort
First modern well, Magma No. 1(still in production)
Geysers Power Plant Unit 1 began operations, becoming the first
modern power plant to generate electricity from geothermal steam in
the United States
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Geysers Exploration and
Development Boom
Development boomed in the late
1970s and expanded significantly
in 1980s
1960 – 1989: 22 power plants had
been built at The Geysers, with
first 20 years of development in
Sonoma County
1987: Steam production peaked
and then began to rapidly decline
Calpine purchases a 1-megawatt
interest in Aidlin, located in the
northwest fringe of the geothermal
reservoir. Built in 1989, it was the
last power plant built at The
Geysers
Aidlin, Calpine Unit 1
Sonoma County, CA
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Calpine at The Geysers
• By 1998, Calpine acquired most of the other plants at The Geysers, today owning and
operating 15 of the 18 geothermal power plants:
– The consolidation of ownership of plants and steamfields is a more global approach to managing
The Geysers as a geothermal resource, achieving environmental and economic benefits
– June 2012: Calpine received its 11th consecutive award for excellence in lease maintenance,
safety and environmental stewardship from California Department of Conservation
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Power Generation
• Magma or hot rocks heat water deep below the surface to form
geothermal reservoirs
• Wells, 1 to 2 miles deep, tap fluids from 300 to 600°F to drive steam
turbines
• Steam turbines drive generators
that transmit electricity to
the power lines
• Steam leaving the turbine is
condensed and recycled to
replenish the geothermal reservoir
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Power Generation
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Clean Energy from Recycled Water
Santa Rosa Geysers Recharge
Project (SRGRP) - 2003
•
40 miles of 48” pipe
•
~12 million gallons per day
•
Avoids discharge into Russian River
Southeastern Geysers Effluent
Project (SEGEP) - 1997
•
30 miles of 20” pipe
•
~8 million gallons per day
(NCPA/CPN)
•
Avoids discharge into Clear Lake
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Injection Increases Steam Production at The Geysers
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Geysers Geothermal Power Plants Provide Renewable
Energy Around the Clock
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The Geysers at a Glance
• World’s single-largest geothermal resource developed for electric generation,
operating since first commercial steam well drilled in 1954
• Calpine operates 15 geothermal plants with 725 megawatts of generation capacity,
enough green energy to power a city the size of San Francisco
• Provides 24% of California’s renewable electric generation and 41% of the total U.S.
geothermal generation
• Calpine at The Geysers operates 330 steam wells, 75 injection wells, 80 miles of
steam lines
• The Geysers receives approximately 20 million gallons of waste water per day from
Sonoma and Lake Counties
• The Geysers steam fields span more than 45 square miles
• Calpine promotes geothermal and renewable energy education through Visitors
Center operations and free Geysers community tours from Sonoma and Lake County
destinations
• Calpine’s Geysers Website, www.geysers.com provides further information
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Geothermal Contribution
•
The U.S leads the
world in geothermal
generation
•
In 2011, U.S.
Geothermal Plants
produced 0.4% of
total U.S. electricity
generation
•
Five States have
geothermal power
plants: California
leads with 35; Nevada
has 20 plants
•
The Geysers produces
2/5 of U.S.
geothermal
generation
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Geothermal Contribution
Total GWh Renewable Energy Use in California
Wind, 3,491
Biomass,
5,574
Solar, 758
Small Hydro,
5,146
Geothermal,
13,771
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Geothermal Benefits
Non-Combustion Renewable Energy
• High availability
• Predictable – no integration costs
• High jobs/MW
Capacity Factor Comparison
89%
97%
Source: CAISO
24%
40%
Solar
Wind
Geothermal
Source: DOE, CPN
Project Employment Comparison
Geysers
Project
Type
MW Size
Blue Mountain
Geo
39
Neal Hot Springs
Geo
PV
5 Points et al
Developer
State
Ops Jobs
Nevada Geo
NV
14
23
U.S. Geo
OR
12
100
PG&E
CA
5
Source: GEA, PG&E
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Calpine’s Economic Impact
• Calpine’s current operations at The Geysers are a major contributor to the
local economy
– About 300 full-time Calpine employees work at The Geysers; contractor jobs
average another 150 full-time equivalents
– Estimated $75 million per year in goods and services to support Geysers
operations
– Calpine is the largest property taxpayer in both Lake and Sonoma Counties
– Calpine’s 2011 Geysers royalties payments on geothermal generation:
• Private mineral rights owners = $12,325,423
• State Teachers Retirement Fund Received $4,474,862 in State Lands
Royalties
• Federal Royalty Payments = $5,623,928
– Lake and Sonoma Counties receive a portion of federal royalty
payments resulting from geothermal production at The Geysers as
follows:
YEAR
SONOMA COUNTY LAKE COUNTY
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
$1,087,790
$1,749,735
$963,562
$1,189,395
$1,108,974
$845,759
$2,780,976
$824,269
$843,695
$800,270
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Calpine’s Geothermal Visitors Center
TOURS! Calpine now offers tours from Sonoma County destinations and from
the Visitor Center. For a full schedule visit www.geysers.com
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Enhanced Geothermal Systems: Next Generation Geothermal
• Abundant enhanced geothermal system (EGS) resources in U.S.
• Key issues involve reservoir creation (higher permeability), reduced
drilling costs
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Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) Demonstration
North West Geysers Field
•
Reopen and deepen two existing
wells within the NW Geysers
•
Test permeability enhancement via
shear reactivation and thermal
contraction through low P injection
•
Validate reservoir stimulation process
through coupled process modeling
and seismic monitoring
•
Enhance/upgrade exhibits at Visitor
Center to include EGS technology
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Opportunities - North Geysers Area
• Existing permitted steamfield in an underutilized area of The Geysers
• Options include:
– Injection and steam production to support existing facilities
– If adequate resource exists, build one or two additional geothermal
power plants:
• November 2011 - Calpine’s two permits for the proposed Wildhorse
and Buckeye power plants, each up to 49 MW, were approved by the
Board of Supervisors, 5-0 vote with no opposition
• Calpine is pursing additional permitting and power purchase
agreement. If built, the proposed projects could provide Sonoma
County with additional:
» Economic benefits
» Environmental benefits
» Community benefits
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Calpine’s Proposed North Geysers Power Plants
• Viable Options for Expanding Renewable Generation
– Calpine proposes adding two new geothermal power plants to its fleet
at The Geysers. These new plants would each be capable of producing
up to 49 megawatts of electricity, together enough to supply more than
70,000 homes with clean, renewable energy. They would be the first
new plants built at The Geysers since 1989.
– Calpine’s efforts to improve and sustain production at The Geysers
through pioneering wastewater recharge projects and technological
advances have made this proposed expansion possible.
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Calpine’s Proposed North Geysers Projects
Wildhorse &
Buckeye
Development
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Wildhorse and Buckeye Progress to Date
• Calpine has invested tens of millions of dollars for resource
exploration, development and verification
• Unanimous approval of use permits by the Sonoma County Board of
Supervisors (the California Environmental Quality lead agency)
• Completion of a Phase 2 Transmission Study by the California
Independent System Operator for the first of the two projects
• Negotiating LGIA transmission agreement with PG&E and CAISO
• Execution of a Project Labor Agreement for both proposed plants with
the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California and
the Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake Counties Building & Construction
Trades Council
• Received Authority to Construct from Northern Sonoma County Air
Pollution Control District
Construction is dependent upon Calpine’s ability to secure long-term power purchase
agreements for the plants’ output and upon receipt of all necessary permits.
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Potential Economic & Environmental Benefits
• Potential Jobs:
– 190 local jobs (including union construction jobs) during the 30-month build out
– Up to 19 new full-time jobs
– $2.4 million in annual payroll
• Local Economy:
– $12 million in one-time sales tax revenue
– $7 million in new annual property taxes
– $15 million a year on maintenance and operations
– $1 million in federal royalties, of which 45 percent will return to the county and 30
percent to the state
– $1.5 million in state royalties will go into the California State Teacher’s Retirement
Fund
– $1.5 million will be paid as private royalties
• Community Benefits:
– Funds to support Sonoma County’s environmental stewardship, climate protection and
resource management programs
• Environmental Benefits
– Clean renewable energy
– GHG reduction
– Waste water program
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