UTILITY IN BIG GEOTHERMAL BUYS

PG&E Buys Additional Geothermal Power From Calpine
October 30, 2009 (PR Newswire via Rueters)

"Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)… announced an agreement with Geysers Power Company, LLC, a subsidiary of Calpine Corporation, to increase and extend the utility's purchases of renewable geothermal power."

How conventional geothermal energy generates electricity. (click to enlarge)

"PG&E currently has two power purchase agreements with Geysers totaling about
375 megawatts (MW) per year, with enough renewable energy to meet the needs of
more than 450,000 average homes. Those agreements expire between the end of
2012 and the end of 2014. The new deal, if approved by the California Public
Utilities Commission, would extend the term for Geysers energy through 2021.
Total capacity is expected to increase about 50 MW to a total of 425 MW from
2010 through 2017, dropping to a total of about 250 MW from 2018 through 2021.

"Geothermal power is a particularly valuable renewable resource because it is
highly dependable. Available around the clock, it is less affected by weather,
seasons or other factors that create technical challenges for managing some
other kinds of renewable power…"

The deeper you drill, the hotter it gets. (click to enlarge)

"Pacific Gas and Electric Company…is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 15 million people in Northern and Central California."