Project Proceeding
Bottle Rock Geothermal Plant Repowering
Docket Number:
79-AFC-4C
(Compliance Proceeding)
On August 2, 2006, U.S. Renewables Group filed an amendment to Energy Commission Docket Number 79-AFC-4C requesting they be allowed to repower the shuttered Bottle Rock Geothermal Power Plant. The plant is located in Cobb, California, in the in the Geysers Known Geothermal Resource Area of Lake County.
This compliance proceeding will determine if the Energy Commission should permit the company to refurbish the plant and bring it back on line after it has been shut down and in cold storage for roughly 16 years.
Key Dates
- 8/2/06 - U.S. Renewables Group files amendment to repower the project.
- 11/90 - Plant power production ends; plant placed into cold shut-down state.
- 2/85 - Plant begins operations.
- 11/5/80 - Original AFC approved by Energy Commission.
- 7/27/79 - Original Application for Certification (AFC) filed by DWR.
Background and Plant History
On July 27, 1979, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) filed an Application For Certification (AFC) for the 55 megawatt (MW) Bottle Rock Geothermal Project. As a geothermal AFC, following an Notice of Intention, Bottle Rock went through a nine-month licensing proceeding, including a separate Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The DWR Bottle Rock Geothermal Project received unanimous Energy Commission certification on November 5, 1980. Bottle Rock was constructed and began operating in February 1985.
Steam supply, however, became a critical problem for Bottle Rock. While the South Geysers area had insufficient steam to make completion of construction worthwhile, the area near Bottle Rock and DWR's South Geysers Power Plant had too little steam for the facilities to continue generation. The steam field for Bottle Rock could only produce about 15 MW instead of the 55 MW capacity.
In November 1990, DWR suspended operation of the Bottle Rock project and the plant was eventually placed into cold stand-by state. In April 1993, the Energy Commission approved an amendment modifying monitoring and reporting requirements in consideration of the plant's shutdown status. More recent notices and amendments are available below.
While Bottle Rock was shutdown, DWR kept trying to sell the facility as an alternative to permanent closure. A private buyer was finally found in 2001, and ownership transferred from DWR to the Bottle Rock Power Corporation. U.S. Renewables Group purchased the power plant in October 2005 with the intention of repowering the project.
Compliance Proceeding Notices and Documents
Older Compliance Documents
For Questions About This Siting Case Contact:
Donna Stone
Compliance Project Manager
Systems Assessment & Facility Siting Division
California Energy Commission
1516 Ninth Street, MS-15
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-654-4745
Fax: 916-654-3882
E-mail: dstone@energy.state.ca.us
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