The secretive startup claimed to have developed a game-changing lithium extraction technology, catching Elon Musk’s attention and prompting Tesla to offer $325 million to buy the company in 2014, as later revealed by the Desert Sun newspaper. None of the busts was more dramatic than that of Simbol Materials. Companies have typically been foiled either by poor economics or by the brine’s highly corrosive nature. Imperial Valley residents are wary of those kinds of promises, thanks to a long history of developers trying and failing to profit from minerals dissolved in the salty waters deep beneath the Salton Sea (which have no connection to the surface lake). The Imperial Irrigation District, meanwhile, has agreed to buy most of the 50 megawatts of power that Controlled Thermal would initially generate. But now California is swimming in cheap solar and wind power, and officials are scrambling for clean-energy resources that can be counted on 24/7, especially after sundown.Ĭalifornia’s first new geothermal plant in nearly a decade recently started construction in Mono County. The technology is expensive, and for years development had ground to a halt. They take advantage of a natural geothermal hot spot, where heat from the Earth’s core radiates outward and warms water trapped in underground rock formations.Įnergy companies drill down and bring the superheated water to the surface, where the drop in pressure causes it to “flash” from a liquid to a gas, creating bursts of steam that can turn turbines and generate electricity.Īt the end of the process, the brine is injected back underground, replenishing the reservoir. There are already 11 geothermal power plants in the area, churning out emissions-free energy for California and Arizona.
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