To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): County Administrator’s Office
Staff Name and Phone Number: Barbara Lee; 565-2510
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Sonoma Clean Power Geothermal Opportunity Zone
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Adopt a Resolution establishing County membership in the Sonoma Lake Mendocino Geothermal Opportunity Zone.
end
Executive Summary:
Sonoma Clean Power (SCP) has invited the County of Sonoma to participate in a multi-jurisdiction joint effort to explore the future of geothermal power in our region, and to work collaboratively to identify where and how new geothermal resources should be developed. SCP has also extended invitations to the Counties of Mendocino and Lake. A Geothermal Opportunity Zone (GeoZone) is the proposed name for this collaboration, and the intent is to identify advances in water-efficient power production, environmentally preferable technologies, ways to ensure local communities benefit from new facilities, and solutions to aid the participating counties in achieving their climate goals as well as California’s goals of Senate Bill 100 (DeLeón, The 100 Percent Clean Energy Act of 2018). New technologies could provide long-term potential to lower costs, but may have higher initial costs until greater scale is achieved, so another goal of the GeoZone is to secure federal or state funding to cover any initial above-market costs. There is no financial commitment associated with joining the GeoZone, and the County will retain full discretion over future actions regarding any projects that may be developed in the Sonoma County portion of the GeoZone.
Discussion:
The Climate Action and Resiliency Pillar of your Board’s 2021 Strategic Plan has an overarching goal to “Make Sonoma County carbon neutral by 2030.” Carbon emissions associated with energy production are a significant contributor to total the County’s greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory. The County entered into a Joint Powers Agreement with Sonoma Water to establish Sonoma Clean Power in 2014 in order to promote the use of clean, renewable energy by enabling consumer choice around energy purchases.
Some renewable energy can provide baseload power at any time, while other forms, like wind and solar power, cannot provide baseload power because they are generated from resources that fluctuate over time and can only be used when the resource is available. While energy storage solutions will ultimately allow intermittent resources to provide round-the-clock energy, there is a high demand now for clean, renewable energy that can provide baseload power.
Geothermal power is a baseload energy source. The Geysers geothermal resource has been delivering commercial electricity for over 60 years and is the largest geothermal resource in the world. At its peak, the resource produced almost 1600 megawatts (MW) of power. In the 1990s, however, steam pressure in the Geysers declined significantly, threatening the future of power production from the resource. The reinjection of treated wastewater, from Lake County in 1997 and Sonoma County in 2003, has significantly slowed the decline in pressure however the resource currently produces at about half of its original capacity. There have been various efforts over the last decade to identify new production areas in the Geysers, including new drilling techniques and exploration in undeveloped areas of the resource. While new wells have been drilled and permits issued for small power plants (less than 50 MW), new production has not been achieved.
In addition to concerns about the decline in capacity at the Geysers, the older direct steam technologies currently in use release large amounts of steam to the atmosphere after it passes through the turbines. This results in the release of air pollutants, including GHG emissions, from gasses and other constituents present in the geothermal steam. Among other pollutants released, hydrogen sulfide is present and can cause unpleasant odor impacts in nearby communities. The steam released also results in a significant loss of water to the atmosphere.
New geothermal technologies are designed with a closed loop system that returns most of the spent steam directly to the geothermal resource, which can significantly reduce both emissions and water loss. The new technologies can also support efficient generation at the micro scale (less than 5 MW), which, when combined with directional drilling, allows the generation to occur at the wellhead. This eliminates pressure loss during transmission, and results in less disturbance in the natural landscape. These micro scale power plants also require less steam production to operate, which could translate into production in areas not previously considered viable.
Unfortunately, these new technologies are still in the demonstration phase. Among other challenges, cost presents a barrier to near-term use.
SCP is proposing the GeoZone partnership to explore potential opportunities created by the new technologies to generate clean, renewable energy in the Geysers region, and to more effectively leverage outside funding that could bridge the cost gap and make new development in the Geysers feasible. The GeoZone partnership activities may also include: collaboratively sharing information among the Counties, soliciting developers to propose new geothermal and other clean power resources, exploring a programmatic environmental impact report to reduce development risks and timelines, seeking federal and state funds and changes in policy to support geothermal development, and facilitating the use of the renewable energy output by customers in the Counties.
The first undertaking of the GeoZone partnership would be contracting for a more detailed and rigorous evaluation of the resource area and its compatibility with the new technologies. SCP will release a Request For Information (RFI) in early 2022 and use the responses from potential development partners to further inform GeoZone actions. In addition, SCP is currently researching whether a public-private partnership would be prudent to maximize the value of tax credits and take advantage of technical capabilities. SCP staff may also undertake targeted advocacy at the CPUC and CAISO for plans and rulings that could further enable development of local geothermal resources. This could include engagement in the Integrated Resource Plan proceeding, the Transmission Planning Process, and the interconnection enhancements stakeholder initiative.
Sonoma Clean Power is not requesting any financial contribution from the County to the GeoZone, and should your Board agree to join the GeoZone, the County would retain all of its decisionmaking discretion regarding individual projects that might ultimately be developed in the County jurisdiction. The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution of membership in the GeoZone in December, 2021, and the Lake County Board of Supervisors considered a resolution of membership on January 25, 2022 and decided not to join at this time.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Climate Action and Resiliency
Goal: Goal 2: Invest in the community to enhance resiliency and become carbon neutral by 2030
Objective: Objective 1: Support carbon eliminating microgrid technology in communities and energy grid resilience to reduce impact of power loss during power shutdowns and natural disasters (floods, fires, earthquakes) through education and legislative advocacy, prioritizing critical infrastructure and vulnerable populations.
Prior Board Actions:
1. On November 17, 2020, approved Gold Resolution 2020-1111 Honoring Calpine Corporation For The Sixtieth Anniversary 2020-1111 Of Commercial Geothermal Power Production At The Geysers.
2. On May 19, 2020, approved a Geothermal Appraisal Services Agreement 2020-0309 for geothermal and power plant property appraisal services for the period of July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2023, in an amount not to exceed $568,200.
3. On June 11-12, approved the Lake County Cost Sharing Agreement for Geothermal Data 2019-0970 to share geothermal assessment data.
Fiscal Summary
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
N/A
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None
Attachments:
1. Resolution Establishing Sonoma County Membership in the Geothermal Opportunity Zone
2. SCP Memo to Sonoma County re: The Geothermal Opportunity Zone
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None