Sonoma County has been awarded state money to study where envisioned next-generation power plants could go in the North Coast’s sprawling Geysers geothermal field with the least impacts and potentially the fastest project timelines.
The $1.36 million commitment, unveiled Sept. 29, was one of three totaling $4.56 million from the California Energy Commission’s Geothermal Grant and Loan Program. The funds are expected to be awarded in January, according to John Mack, who manages Permit Sonoma’s Natural Resources Division.
“We’re going to proactively look at the landscape across Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma counties for the best areas for geothermal with the least cultural and environmental impacts and best siting,” Mack said.
The grant period is three years. The plan includes working with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to develop a cutting-edge three-dimensional model of what’s underground, map what’s above…
