Geysers Power tapping Geothermal to supply Santa Clara Utility

Jan. 11, 2023
The renewable geothermal energy will be supplied to the City of Santa Clara’s public power utility Silicon Valley Power. The deals provide for the initial supply of up to 50 MW of renewable energy and capacity, with deliveries increasing to up to 100 MW

The Northern California Power Agency (NCPA), a California joint action agency, has signed a set of long-term renewable energy purchase agreements with Geysers Power Company, an indirect subsidiary of Texas-based energy firm Calpine.

Under the agreements, NCPA will buy and receive clean, renewable energy produced from multiple Calpine geothermal power plants in California’s Sonoma and Lake Counties for a period of 12 years from 2025 to 2036.

The renewable geothermal energy will be supplied to the City of Santa Clara’s public power utility Silicon Valley Power (SVP) and potentially other NCPA members.

NCPA General Manager Randy S. Howard said, “This long-term agreement to secure renewable baseload generation only furthers that objective, and will help to assure a continued supply of affordable and reliable power for SVP customers for many years to come.”

The deals provide for the initial supply of up to 50 MW of renewable energy and capacity, with deliveries increasing to up to 100 MW through 2036. Each MW can power around 750 homes, the NCPA says.

Geysers Power and NCPA both individually own and operate geothermal plants located in The Geysers area, which is said to be one of the largest geothermal steam fields in the world. The geothermal field includes close to 20 power plants drawing from more than 300 wells in the deep underground area north of San Francisco.

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“Calpine is pleased to be working closely with NCPA, the City of Santa Clara, and the Northern California public power community. Together, we share a long-term vision for the sustainable operation of The Geysers” said Gevan Reeves, Vice President West Origination and Development for Calpine. “This important agreement with NCPA and the City of Santa Clara helps to support ongoing investment and innovation at The Geysers.”

Located in Roseville, California, NCPA provides its members with electrical energy purchasing, aggregation, scheduling and management. Silicon Valley Power supplies energy to about 55,000 customers within its community. 

Utilities, universities and power companies are increasingly aiming to utilizing the earth's core heat. Entities which are undertaking geothermal projects include real estate developments in New York, underground power plants in Nevada and at schools such as Dartmouth, Boston University and California at Berkeley. 

About the Author

EnergyTech Staff

Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

He can be reached at [email protected]

EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

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