By Mike Taugher
Nov. 27, 2002
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
In a bold example of its determination to produce energy from environmentally sensitive land, the Bush administration Tuesday reversed a Clinton-era ruling by giving the go-ahead to a new power plant in a scenic forest that is considered sacred by local tribes.
The decision to approve the geothermal plant in the northeast corner of California raised alarms among environmental groups and some American Indians, who said the remote area would be ruined forever by the power plant, transmission lines and new roads.
"It doesn't matter where the energy is found. If they found energy under Mount Rushmore, they would go for it," said Paul Spitler, an environmental consultant in Davis who has hiked extensively in the area. "There's some places where it is simply not appropriate."
The decision clears the way for Calpine Corp. of San Jose to tap into hot water beneath the surface of the Medicine Lake caldera, a 6-mile-by-4-mile remnant of a collapsed volcano that rises high above the surrounding plateau in the Modoc National Forest. The 48-megawatt power plant would send electricity by new transmission lines across the Oregon border.
In reversing the Clinton administration's decision to deny approval of the power plant, the federal government said two recent developments have combined to outweigh the aesthetic and spiritual values of the region: a new national imperative to increase domestic energy production and California's policy to increase use of renewable energy sources.
"Production of electricity from the geothermal resource will help the nation take steps toward increasing domestic energy supplies, particularly from renewable sources," Rebecca W. Watson, an assistant Interior secretary, said in a written statement.
In an attempt to minimize the damage, the government will require Calpine to abandon an earlier plan to build transmission lines through a protected road-free area.
But critics were not appeased. "What an utter disaster," said Spitler.
The Pit River tribe, which considers the lake and its environs sacred, issued a statement calling the decision inexplicable.
"It is a significant slam against sacred lands, and the tribe has no intention of giving up the battle," the statement read. "The tribe considers this decision to be another broken promise."
In 2000, the Clinton administration rejected a power plant at Telephone Flat on the grounds that it could not be built without destroying at least some of its spiritual and recreational value.
At the same time, the Clinton administration approved Calpine's application to build a geothermal power plant a few miles north, outside the caldera.
The previous owner of the Telephone Flat lease sued the government, and later sold its interest in the project to Calpine. The San Jose company then asked the Bush administration to settle the lawsuit and reconsider the earlier decision.
"It certainly is positive for the prospects of the project, but beyond that we need to evaluate ... whether the project remains feasible," said Kent Robertson, a Calpine spokesman.
Robertson said the area is not as pristine as environmentalists portray.
"It's been logged over several times. There's an extensive road system," he said, adding, "We are certainly sensitive to the concerns that have been expressed, and we are confident that the project can go forward."
Because the power plant would generate less than 50 megawatts, it is not subject to review by the California Energy Commission.
Still, the energy commission would subsidize the power plant through funds collected from utility ratepayers to boost renewable energy. Calpine would get 1.46 cents for each kilowatt-hour it sells over the first five years of the plant's life.
"Assuming that all the issues, environmental and otherwise, are resolved, we would like to see it come online," said Marwan Masri, a deputy director at the energy commission.
That subsidy has raised eyebrows among the plant's critics, because the power would be sold to the Bonneville Power Administration, whose headquarters is in Portland.
Calpine spokesman Robertson said the BPA frequently sells electricity into California. "Any power plant built within California is going to help California," he said.
In addition to the Bush administration's drive to develop more domestic and renewable energy, the federal government also cited in its decision California's new mandate that 20 percent of its electricity come from renewable sources by 2017.
Today, about 9 percent of California's electricity comes from renewable sources other than hydropower, and slightly more than half of that is from geothermal energy.
In fact, the energy commission says that 40 percent of the world's geothermal electricity generation is in California, and the largest geothermal generator in the world is Calpine.
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Mike Taugher covers the environment and energy. Reach him at 925-943-8257 or mtaugher@cctimes.com.