The first of several new power plants at various stages of development in the Coachella Valley is poised to generate, but most of its fellows are not expected to arrive for a year or more.
The already approved, 135-megawatt Indigo Energy Facility in Palm Springs, built by Boston-based InterGen, was set to go on- line last week, according to John Jones, vice president at InterGen. InterGen, a joint venture, also is designing the Ocotillo Energy Facility in Palm Springs, which would generate an additional 450 megawatts.
“We have filed permits with the California Energy Commission and are awaiting a response. Our expectation is to be online for the summer of 2002,” Jones said.
One megawatt is roughly enough power to supply 1,000 homes.
The California Energy Commission is considering a slew of other proposals in the area.
San Jose-based Calpine Corp. is seeking permits for the 600-megawatt, $300 million dollar Te’ayawa Energy Center, which is slated to be built on the Torres-Martinez Band of Desert Cahuilla Indians Reservation near Thermal.
“It has the appearance of being a good project,” said Kent Robertson, spokesman for Calpine.
Coachella Valley is a good location for a power plant because it is close to a load center,an area with a high population density, according to Robertson. The presence of high-capacity transmission and gas lines also makes the area attractive to would-be power players, he said. InterGen also is putting two plants in the area because of its power lines, Jones said.
Calpine also is in the planning stages of a 600-megawatt plant in Romoland, west of the Coachella Valley, as part of a plan to bring 12,000 megawatts to California by 2005.
Both the Te’ayawa and the Romoland generators will be capable of running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Robertson said.
Meanwhile, the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians is talking with generator companies about building a 50-megawatt natural gas plant at the Resource Recovery Park in Mecca. The tribe operates Colemac Energy, a 48-megawatt, biomass-fueled power plant located at the park.
“There is no proposed name (for the project). We’re still talking to different companies, exploring different options,” said Janice Kleinschmidt, public information officer for the tribe.
Meanwhile, a 120-megawatt, $150 million generator north of the Salton Sea was proposed by Solar Future Tech 2000. Formerly The Active Group Corp. of Los Angeles, Solar purchased the 20-acre site in 1999 and moved to Rancho Mirage earlier this year. The plant is designed to run on natural gas, but eventually will recycle trash into fire logs to heat its boilers, according to George Wolfe, executive director for Solar.
The company also plans to construct a solar power plant next to the natural gas facility. Taking the advice of solar equipment suppliers, Wolfe decided the Coachella Valley was a prime position for a solar plant.
Solar Future Tech hopes to take advantage of an expedited approval process for single-cycle “peaker” power plants that allows the commission to approve a project in 21 days. But the expedited process sunsets in September. Proposed plants which do not fall under peaker status face an approval process that takes six to 12 months once an initial application has been submitted and OK’d.
With funding still being sought and a deadline looming, time is running short for Solar’s plant, according to Rob Schlichting, spokesman for the commission.
“(They) have to be on line and producing power by Sept. 30,” Schlichting said. “With construction time, they’re pretty much running out of time.” n
Bodenheimer is a staff writer for the The Business Press (Ontario).
