White said geothermal development “looks to be compatible with restoration,” with an estimated 2,000 megawatt potential in Imperial County “that could provide base load power to Southern California in a manner that is cost- effective.” Te energy potential is “basically the same amount of power we get from the San Onofre nuclear power plant that could be developed and produced here locally,” he said. Southern California Edison announced June 7 that it is closing the 40-year-old San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Te power plant had been offline since January 2012 due to mechanical failure and the company faced an uphill road to making it manageable again. Even though state law requires 33


percent of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources by Dec. 31, 2020, there has not been an increase in geothermal development, White said. “We have significant existing devel- opment … but there has not been new investment partly because the price of solar has been less expensive and because the value and attributes of geothermal, in my opinion, has been under appreciated by the utilities,” he said. Te 33 percent figure established in state law should be a floor and not a ceil- ing, White said, noting “we strongly sup- port utilities continuing to procure new renewable resources, even if it means they might go above the 33 percent, because we think if they look closely at the value that the resources in this area can provide, they will see them in perspective as maybe being worth investing in.” A “bottleneck” exists between the California Independent System Operator and IID and “there needs to be better coordination between them in building infrastructure to enable these resources to get out and be sold.” “You need to coordinate the planning for the future restoration of the Sea with the infrastructure to enable the develop- ment of these indigenous resources that can then provide revenues to the county for purposes of helping to manage the restoration of the Sea,” White said.


August


21-23 Summer Conference, sponsored by Colorado Water Congress Steamboat Springs, CO • http://www.cowatercongress.org/events/eventde- tail.aspx?eventid=217


22-23 Nevada Water Law, sponsored by CLE International, Reno, NV http://www.cle.com/product.php?proid=1406&src=Featured&page= Nevada_Water_Law


September


23-24 New Mexico Water Law, sponsored by CLE International, Santa Fe, NM http://www.cle.com/product.php?proid=1409&src=Featured&page=New_ Mexico_Water_Law


18-21 Arizona Hydrological Society Annual Symposium, Tucson, AZ http://ahssymposium.org/2013


October


2-4 WaterSmart Innovations 2013 Conference and Exposition, Las Vegas, NV http://www.watersmartinnovations.com/index.php


2-4 173rd Fall Council Meeting, sponsored by Western States Water Council, Deadwood, SD • http://www.westernstateswater.org/173rd-fall-council- meetings


10-11 Utah Water Law, sponsored by CLE International, Salt Lake City, UT http://www.cle.com/product.php?proid=1412&src=Featured&page= Utah_Water_Law


18 Colorado River: Law & Policy Issues Unique to Arizona, Sponsored by CLE International, Phoenix, AZ http://www.cle.com/product.php?proid=1416&src=Featured&page= Colorado_River


21 Colorado River: Law & Policy Issues Unique to Colorado, Sponsored by CLE International, Denver, CO http://www.cle.com/product.php?proid=1417&src=Featured&page= Colorado_River


23-25 Te Agriculture/Urban Water Interface – Conflicts and Opportunities sponsored by the U.S. Committee for Irrigation and Drainage, Denver, CO http://www.uscid.org/13coconf.html


November


21-22 New Water Realities: Proposals for Meaningful Change, sponsored by New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM http://2013.wrri.nmsu.edu


December


11-13 Colorado River Water Users Association Conference, sponsored by the Colorado River Water Users Association, Las Vegas, NV http://www.crwua.org/AboutUs/FutureConferences.aspx


Contact Sue McClurg with your calendar items from January 2014 through June 2014 for inclusion in the Winter issue of River Report, smcclurg@watereducation.org or 717 K Street, Suite 317, Sacramento, CA 95814


Summer 2013 • River Report • Colorado River Project • 9


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