Bottle Rock Power's Brian Harms did a great job on showing us how an actual geyser steam generated power plant works and how it helps our community as a whole. Bottle Rock Power Plant is a 55 megawatt geothermal power plant that provides clean, reliable and renewable energy to homes and businesses in northern California. Bottle Rock sits on a 350-acre site in Lake County, California, in an area known as the Geysers, the largest producing geothermal region in the world. It was amazing to find out that the electricity made at Bottle Rock is enough to power up 12,000 homes. PGE buys all power generated from the plant. More than 80 local people have plant jobs, including welders and plumbers. These people all buy things from our businesses or use our services. The best part of this power maker is that it also generates a lot of revenue for our county tax base. Over one million tax dollars goes into Lake County coffers. That is not counting the tens of thousands of dollars in property tax they pay on the land used for drilling for steam.
Bottle Rock Power Plant is a 55 megawatt geothermal power plant that provides clean, reliable and renewable energy to homes and businesses in northern California. Bottle Rock sits on a 350-acre site in Lake County, California, in an area known as the Geysers, the largest producing geothermal region in the world. More than 80 local area residents are employed at Bottle Rock, making the plant an important part of Lake County's economic base. As a member of the Cobb Mountain community, Bottle Rock takes its responsibilities seriously and is committed to running a productive, safe and environmentally compliant geothermal operation.
Bottle Rock first began operation in 1985 under the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). DWR suspended its operations in 1991 and later sold the power station to the Bottle Rock Power Corporation. US Renewables Group (USRG) took ownership of the facility in 2005 and in June 2006, Riverstone Holdings and The Carlyle Group acquired a significant stake in Bottle Rock from USRG. Under its new owners, the plant was refurbished and repowered and the steam field has undergone additional development. Bottle Rock Power came back online in March 2007 and today produces clean, renewable energy under a long-term contract with Pacific Gas & Electric. With plans to increase its energy output, Bottle Rock is well positioned to meet the increasing demand for reliable and green electricity in Northern California.