Geothermal Energy Development: Problems and Prospects in the Imperial Valley of California PDF
Preview Geothermal Energy Development: Problems and Prospects in the Imperial Valley of California
Geothermal Energy Development PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS IN THE IMPERIAL VALLEY OF CALIFORNIA Geothermal Energy Development PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS IN THE IMPERIAL VALLEY OF CALIFORNIA Edgar W. Butler James B. Pick and University of California Riverside, California Plenum Press • New York and London Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Butler, Edgar W. Geothermal energy development. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Geothermal engineering-California-Imperial County. I. Pick, James B. II. Title. TJ280.7.B87 333.3'815'0979499 81·23402 ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-7008-6 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-7006-2 DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4684-7006-2 © 1982 Plenum Press, New York Softcover reprint of the hardcover 18t edition 1982 A Division of Plenum Publishing Corporation 233 Spring Street, New York, N.Y. 10013 All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical. photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher To my parents Helen Block Pick and Grant Julius Pick IP. To Pattie, Brian, and Tracey Butler E.B. Foreword What are the effects on an isolated region when an entirely new and major energy resource is developed to commercial proportions? What happens to the population, the economy, the environment, the community, and societal relations? How does the government frame work respond, the family structure adapt, the economy expand, and life styles change under the impact of new forces which hold a prom ise of much benefit and a risk of adverse consequences? Imperial County, California, has a population of less than 90,000 people. This population has been exceptionally stable for years, cen tered as it is in an agricultural and recreational framework. The county is somewhat cut off from other areas by geographic barriers of moun'" tains and desert, by state and natural boundaries, and is the most remote of all 58 counties of California from the state capitol, Sacra mento. In the decade of the 1950s, geographical explorations for oil re vealed some anomalous structures underlying the desert and agricul tural areas in Imperial County. These, when drilled, seemed to be oil less and hot, and so lacked attractiveness to petroleum wildcatters. In the decade of the 1960s, Dr. Robert Rex from the University of California, Riverside, and other scientists developed more completely the geological features of the region, including explorations of high flow zones associated with the multiple faulting of the area, and for circulation of underground water which might be the conduit for ma jor heat flows from deep magmatic intrusions to relatively reachable depths. The discovery of wells yielding very hot and very concentrated brines near Niland baffled commercial development for either energy or for minerals, but fired the imagination of pioneer geothermal de velopers. Meanwhile, geothermal heat as a source of electric power and also by-product heat gained increasing attention world-wide as a petro- vii viii Foreword leum shortage loomed. Pioneer developments in Italy and New Zea land were followed by development of the world's largest geothermal electric generating complex in the pure steam area of The Geysers, California. Then, Mexico pioneered a mixed phase flashed steam power plant at Cerro Prieto, just a few miles south of Imperial County. In the 1970s came a series of geothermal discoveries in Imperial County: Heber, North Brawley, and East Mesa, along with the earlier Niland discovery-all of which have attracted commercial developers seeking to generate electric power for export to metropolitan San Diego and Los Angeles. Many apparently successful wells have been drilled and tested, and the first power-generating facilities are now under construction. The people of Imperial County have regarded these developments with optimistic interest and with equanimity. They appear to look hopefully for new economic development which may be overlaid on the agricultural base to provide jobs for young people who would oth erwise migrate out. They do not want the attractive agricultural life style to be destroyed, yet they would encourage more widely available power sources for air conditioning and heating in the severe desert climate, and for intensive agricultural and industrial applications. They are open to change and to economic development provided it does not impair the quality of air, water, and land; strict environmen talists and "no-growth" advocates are not widely found among the population. Under these circumstances, local government has moved ration ally and with dispatch to make possible the development of the geo thermal resource. The county has handled zoning and permitting pro cedures in a manner often held up as a fine example of protection of public interest with minimal red tape. So, Imperial Valley now faces a construction phase in which sev eral electric generating facilities will be built to feed power through one or more transmission corridors to the neighboring population cen ters. Some jobs will be created for local workers, but in the main, the highly specialized well-drilling technicians and construction workers will come in from outside for temporary periods and then depart. After demonstrating feasibility and safety in generating geother mal power, the installations will probably proliferate to a multitude of small plants, which may approach 1000- to 3000-MW capacity in aggre gate. Some land will be diverted from agriculture, as the authors Pick and Butler point out. Some help will be developed for the energy shortfall, and some downward pressure will be applied to rising power costs. Foreword ix But again, as the authors describe, the major effects on land use, on life-style, on demographics, on the social structure and on the economy will be driven by the degree and amount of agribusiness and industrial development which associates itself with the geothermal re source. Several possible scenarios can be constructed, and some of the consequences can be predicted with a degree of sureness. Edgar W. Butler and James B. Pick are experienced observers and qualified social scientists from the University of California, Riverside. They have, in this volume, attempted to analyze the data on popula tion and economy which have been compiled about Imperial County. Fortunately, through the foresight of the county government and funding from Federal sources, voluminous base-line statistics have been compiled, and perceptions of people, and the plans of thought leaders have been tabulated. By use of regression analysis and other analytical tools, the au thors are able to project the impact of the outcomes of several possible scenarios for development. These projections will be of great value in guiding policy makers in a period of change. It is fortunate that a moment of history-the emergence of a sta ble, agricultural economy into a mixed economy with possible rapid growth-can be studied and analyzed and projected. The effects of geothermal development may not be understood now. Many of them can be very beneficial; some can be adverse. But the effects can be managed if there is community understanding and effective leadership. It is to be hoped that this volume will contribute to that under standing and will undergird effective leadership. Victor V. Veysey* Director Industrial Relations Center California Institute of Technology "Former U.S. Congressman representing Imperial County. In trodu ction Energy development in a natural resource area such as the Imperial Valley proceeds by surges and ebbs like the tide. This results from the contribution of new technology and new market conditions which stimulate a wave of resource development. Many of the geothermal prospects that can be developed with the economic incentives cur rently available will be tested and brought to market, or as has been the case in the past in the Imperial Valley, set aside pending changed market conditions. The Imperial Valley has historically followed this pattern. In the 1920s, there was a period of exploration and test drill ing in the area of the Salton Sea at Mullet Island. This resource proved to be unable to compete with surplus natural gas as an energy re source. It was followed in the early 1960s with another round of ex ploratory drilling which uncovered the hypersaline high-temperature brine underlying the Salton Sea geothermal area. Careful evaluation of this resource by several companies showed that it also was not com petitive with natural gas as an energy resource and was not competi tive as a potash resource because of the low cost of Canadian potash. In the early 1970s, another round of exploration and development started with drilling at Heber, North Brawley, East Mesa, and the Sal ton Sea. By the late 1970s, development expanded into the Westmore land area and into the South Brawley area near the town of Imperial. Small 10-MW power plant facilities are being developed at East Mesa and North Brawley, with others planned for 1980 and 50-MW plants announced for East Mesa, Heber, and the Salton Sea areas. It appears as though the 1980s will be the decade of commercial development. It is rare that major energy resource can be developed with in tense scrutiny of environmental and sociological factors from the in cipient stages of commercial development through to full develop ment. The Imperial Valley may become one of these exceptional examples. The University of California at Riverside has attempted to xi xii Introduction place into the public domain a considerable body of information con cerning both the scientific aspects of the resource and the sociological aspects of the early phases of development of geothermal energy. The VCR group combined effort in the sociological area is tryidg to reduce a large mass of data and a series of studies into a comprehensive book for the general reader with a strong technical background. As a former VCR faculty member, I can appreciate the incredible amount of work that has gone into preparing this book, and invite the reader to peruse it chapter by chapter, as the sections to a significant degree can stand independently. The depth and breadth of this effort is far greater than might appear on first reading, and as a reviewer of the various chap ters, as well as someone who has spent nearly 30 years working in the Imperial Valley, I recommend this book to those who would like an insight into the impact of energy development in one of the more co herent communities in the western Vnited States. What makes this study so important is the concentration in one isolated region of a remarkably large energy resource. It is, in essence, a natural laboratory for sociologists and economists to monitor to see how energy resource developers and an established community work together for better or for worse. It is the hope of all of us involved with this volume that it aid this effort in a constructive way. Robert W. Rex President Republic Geothermal, Inc. Preface Part of this geothermal research grew out of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Department of Energy's (DOE) Imperial County project. t The goals of that particular study were as follows: 1. To assess the extent of the resource as a means of determining the potential value of geothermal development versus other economic activity in Imperial County. 2. To determine alternative technologies and production costs for developing geothermal resources as a means of testing feasibil ity, cost, and value of geothermal resource. 3. To determine agricultural losses, as land is taken out of agri cultural use and put into geothermal use, as a means of com paring the relative value of the two resources. 4. To determine the social costs (or human effects) for the purpose of abating the impact on people, employment, and social changes. 5. To determine environmental effects as a means of abating noise, subsidence, waste-water, air pollution, or other adverse ecological impacts. 6. To estimate the economic trade offs involving all the direct and indirect benefits and costs of geothermal development as a means of showing gains and losses to the various interest par ties in Imperial County. 7. To assess the political interest groups and intergovernmental jurisdiction as a means of resolving conflicts among goals and arriving at the public interest. S. To utilize the research for decisions as a management means of t DOE was the Energy Research Development Agency (ERDA) at the time of this re search. The NSEIDOE part of the research was carried out under grant No. AER 75- 08793. xiii
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