PG&E to extend, increase geysers power purchases
By Loralee Stevens, Business Journal Staff Reporter
NORTH BAY — Pacific Gas and Electric Co. announced today it will increase and extend the utility’s purchases of renewable geothermal power from Calpine Corporation’s Geysers Power Company.
PG&E currently has two power purchase agreements with Geysers totaling about 375 megawatts 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.
“PG&E has been a leader in the use of clean geothermal power for half a century,” said Fong Wan, senior vice president for energy procurement at PG&E. “As our new contract indicates, we are committed to making this climate-friendly resource an important part of our growing renewables portfolio for many years to come.”
Calpine operates 15 geothermal plants in the Geysers steam field northeast of Santa Rosa.
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