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Calistoga powerplant overlooking the Middletown Valley, The Geysers, Northern California. |
Production of steam and hot water from 22 producing geothermal leases on public lands generated over 4.1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2005; enough for over 500,000 people. Royalties associated with this level of production totaled over $12 million dollars.
The Geysers field in Lake and Sonoma Counties produces 46 percent of the total royalties from federalgeothermal leases in California, with Coso Hot Springs in Inyo County at 34 percent, and East Mesa in Imperial County at 17 percent. Other fields in production include Heber in Imperial County, Mammoth Lakes in Mono County, and Wendel-Amedee in Lassen County.
BLM and the U.S. Forest Service have approved two new geothermal plants for the Medicine Lake Highlands in Siskiyou County. These projects, Fourmile Hill and Telephone Flat, each propose to produce 49.9 megawatts of power for a total of almost 100 megawatts, enough to meet the electrical energy needs of 100,000 people. No construction has yet begun and both are being challenged in court.
Geothermal leases generated
4.1 billion kilowatt hours
of electricity
in 2005,
enough for 500,000 people.
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With the increased emphasis on renewable energy, exploration interest has increased in these and other parts of the State. BLM is currently initiating review of proposals near Coso Hot Springs in Inyo County, Truckhaven/Salton Sea in Imperial County, and Mammoth Lakes in Mono county, as well as a proposal just north of Mount Shasta in Siskiyou County.The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970, as amended, (84 Stat, 1566; 30 U.S.C. 1001-1025) provides the Secretary of the Interior with the authority to lease public lands and other federal lands, including National Forest lands, for geothermal exploration and development in an environmentally sound manner. This authority has been delegated to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). BLM implements the Act through the regulations contained in 43 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 3200.
Exploration and development activities on geothermal leases are authorized by the BLM field offices; activities on federal geothermal leases in The Geysers, for example, are reviewed and authorized by the Ukiah Field Office.
Inspection of geothermal operations on federal leases in California is managed through a North/South Zone. All operations on federal leases located in California north of Sacramento (North Zone) are inspected by personnel from the Ukiah Field Office, with assistance from personnel in the Eagle Lake Field Office . For operations on federal leases located south of Sacramento (South Zone), inspections are coordinated through the Ridgecrest Field Office, with assistance from both the Bishop and El Centro Field Offices.
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