The Potential for Renewable Energy Development to Benefit Restoration of the Salton Sea. Analysis of Technical and Market Potential

Gagne, Douglas A.; Haase, Scott; Oakleaf, Brett; Hurlbut, David; Akar, Sertaç; Wall, Anna; Turchi, Craig; Pienkos, Philip T.; Melius, Jennifer; Melaina, Marc

doi:10.2172/1227956

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Altogether, the power plants in the SS-GF extract an average of slightly over 120 million metric tons of brine per year, approximately 83% of which is reinjected back into the geothermal reservoir, with some of the geothermal fluid lost to evaporation in the cooling towers. (Gagne et al, 2015).…”

Section: The Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resource Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characterizing the Geothermal Lithium Resource at the Salton Sea

Dobson,

Araya,

Brounce

et al. 2023

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The energy transition towards a more sustainable and renewable future is a pivotal global endeavor. Central to this shift for the United States is the critical role of domestically sourced lithium, a key mineral in the production of high-performance batteries essential for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage systems. This has driven the United States to invest heavily in a domestic supply chain for batterygrade lithium to enhance energy security, reduce supply chain vulnerabilities, and foster economic growth by tapping into local resources. A notable example is the Biden Administration's "American Battery Materials Initiative," which was included in the $2.8-billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (The White House, 2022).The "Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resource Area" in Imperial County, California has been identified as a potential domestic U.S. resource of lithium due to the brine-hosted lithium in the deep subsurface geothermal reservoir. An analysis funded by the U.S. Department of Energy provides an overview of opportunities and challenges associated with developing the lithium resource in the Salton Sea geothermal reservoir, as well as potential environmental and societal impacts to the county and surrounding region.The geologic history of the region suggests that lithium in the subsurface brines could have come from multiple sources, including water and sediments from the Colorado River, which have been periodically deposited over the past several million years; rocks from the mountain ranges surrounding the Imperial Valley; and lithium-bearing volcanic rocks and igneous intrusions from past geologic events. Further, several processes may have concentrated lithium in the brine over time, including evaporative concentration of lithium-bearing water that flowed into the basin and leaching of lithium from the sediments and rocks by the circulating geothermal brines.Geothermal brine production at the Salton Sea Geothermal Field, the area with existing geothermal power plants, has averaged just over 120 million metric tons per year since 2004. Using an approximate lithium brine concentration of 198 parts per million (ppm), the amount of dissolved lithium contained in these produced brines is estimated to be 127,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) per year. The total dissolved lithium content in the well-characterized portion of the Salton Sea Geothermal Reservoir is estimated at 4.1 million metric tons of LCE, and the estimated total resource increases to 18 million metric tons of LCE if assumptions for porosity and total reservoir size are increased to reflect the probable resource extent.Analysts measured lithium concentrations in the reservoir rocks, which were shown to vary with depth and mineralogy. These data were used to help refine conceptual and computer models of the reservoir; specifically, two complementary computer models of the reservoir were developed. Analysts used the first model to simulate the approximate 30-year history of geothermal power production in the area u...

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Section: The Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resource Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Figure1.2. Known Geothermal Resource Areas (KGRAs) in Imperial County, California(Gagne et al, 2015).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing the Geothermal Lithium Resource at the Salton Sea

Dobson,

Araya,

Brounce

et al. 2023

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“…At the same time, oil and gas industry talent has been migrating to geothermal, and bringing along advanced drilling and well stimulation techniques that promise to reduce costs. Innovation is also evident in efforts to extract lithium-a key and highly valuable component of lithium-ion batteries-from geothermal brines at existing geothermal power plants as a way to enhance value while also contributing to broader decarbonization [70,71].…”

Section: Mid-term Outlook Through 2026mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mind the Gap: Comparing the Net Value of Geothermal, Wind, Solar, and Solar+Storage in the Western United States

Bolinger

Millstein²,

Gorman

et al. 2022

SSRN Journal

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“…The 2015 evaluation by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) notes that renewable energy may not be as profitable for the region as the IID's projections indicate. NREL estimates $1.5 billion of potential revenue-as opposed to the $4.1 billion projected by the IID's feasibility study (Gagne et al, 2015). According to the NREL report, charging a special restoration fee to funnel money to the Salton Sea may simply deter the development of local geothermal plants.…”

Section: Value Calculations and Vulnerability In Salton Sea Geothermamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The IID’s plan makes a major case for geothermal, a renewable energy resource that they and other supporters argue has been given short shrift in the recent wave of US solar and wind development. The Imperial Valley has six of the state’s 25 Known Geothermal Resource Areas (KGRAs), including a major area around the Salton Sea, most of it still currently underwater (Gagne et al., 2015; Haase, 2016). 8 The IID’s plan envisions a “restored” Salton Sea reengineered into a hub of renewable energy resource development—but simultaneously frames this development as a fix for other restoration challenges (Gagne et al., 2015; IID, 2015).…”

Section: An Entrepreneurial Re(e)valuation: Geothermal-for-restoration In a Renewables Boommentioning

confidence: 99%

Speculations on the postnatural: Restoration, accumulation, and sacrifice at the Salton Sea

Cantor

Knuth

2018

Environ Plan A

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Using a regional political ecology lens, this paper explores emerging geographies and politics of a "postnatural" ecomodernist turn in mainstream environmentalism. We examine the unfolding case of ecological restoration and renewable energy development at Southern California's Salton Sea. Ambitious proposals to restore the massive, increasingly degraded lake (and finance restoration) by reengineering it as a hub for geothermal energy generation and high-tech green industry hinge upon the ambiguity and malleability of restoration in an environment long classified as postnatural. These plans coincide with a broader rush on renewable energy sites in the California desert, and mounting conflicts over water and land with legacy agro-industrial interests. The case illustrates significant problems within postnatural environmentalism. First, it demonstrates how theorizations of the postnatural can intersect with green capitalist projects of re(e)valuation and development, as the Sea's managers manipulate environmental framings to support accumulationminded projects, and accumulation imperatives swamp other functionalities of restoration. Meanwhile, despite the flourishing of postnatural discourses, the "pristine" is shown to do continued work as the Sea becomes a sacrifice zone for development deflected from betterprotected spaces. This postnatural positioning has rendered the Salton Sea vulnerable to neoliberal austerity and speculation in ways that compromise its future existence.

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The Potential for Renewable Energy Development to Benefit Restoration of the Salton Sea. Analysis of Technical and Market Potential

Abstract: This report summarizes the potential for renewable energy development in

Cited by 3 publications

References 19 publications

Characterizing the Geothermal Lithium Resource at the Salton Sea

Characterizing the Geothermal Lithium Resource at the Salton Sea

Mind the Gap: Comparing the Net Value of Geothermal, Wind, Solar, and Solar+Storage in the Western United States

Speculations on the postnatural: Restoration, accumulation, and sacrifice at the Salton Sea

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