Energy Commission Plans Separate Workshops on Wind and Geothermal

The California Energy Commission will hold workshops on January 28 to help fan ideas for upgrading aging wind turbines and unearth ways to increase potential from geothermal power resources.

The wind energy workshop, which is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to noon, will examine ways to make wind repowering profitable and economically attractive for generators. Discussions will center on the challenges facing the wind industry, advances in technology and potential paths for research and development. Many of California’s wind turbines are older and have become more expensive to operate, harder to keep online and less efficient at capturing wind energy.



The geothermal workshop, which is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m., will identify the research most needed to help expand the contributions of geothermal energy to the state’s energy mix. Discussions will center on barriers, such as cost and storage needs, that force most geothermal power plants to operate in baseload mode instead of as flexible, quickly-dispatchable power generators.

Information from the workshops will help the Energy Commission develop a grant solicitation that is planned for release later this year.

Both workshops are at the Warren-Alquist State Energy Building, 1516 Ninth Street, Sacramento. For more details on the wind energy workshop or information on how to participate remotely, click here. For more details on the geothermal workshop or information on how to participate remotely, click here.