A local geothermal plant will get a hand from a global company.
Fuji Electric Co., a leading supplier of turbine-generator equipment to the power-generation industry, announced Thursday its investment of $10 million in the development of a geothermal plant in Imperial Valley owned and operated by EnergySource LLC, an independent renewable energy generation company that develops utility scale geothermal power plants, according to a press release from the company based in Japan.
EnergySource plans to commence drilling mid-year for Hudson Ranch II, with plant construction to begin in 2013 and commercial operations in 2015. Like its recently completed Hudson Ranch I project, in which EnergySource first selected Fuji Electric steam turbine generator equipment, the new plant will generate 49 megawatts from one of the largest and highest temperature geothermal resources in North America, the Salton Sea resource.
Fuji Electric is a leading supplier of steam turbine generator equipment to the geothermal sector and its investment will support EnergySource’s advancement of the Hudson Ranch II project.
“Fuji Electric supports accelerating renewable energy projects in the area of power generation. The company is committed to expanding and growing its geothermal power plant business as a major emphasis for the company,” said Naoto Yoneyama, managing executive officer and director of Fuji Electric in a prepared statement. “With EnergySource’s successful commercial launch of Hudson Ranch I last month, Fuji Electric saw a great opportunity to invest in development of the second plant.”
Hudson Ranch I and Hudson Ranch II will each generate enough power to serve 50,000 homes in the Southwestern region.
“EnergySource is looking forward to bringing its second geothermal plant on line and continuing to design and operate power plants in this very robust and dependable resource,” said Dave Watson, president and chief executive officer of EnergySource in a prepared statement. “Fuji Electric’s investment in our project will accelerate our timeline and our larger development plans to bring new capacity to California and Southwestern utilities in order to meet their state-mandated renewable energy requirements through the delivery of geothermal power.”
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