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American start-up company, AltaRock Co., will begin drilling deep into ground laced with fault lines in an area two hours’ drive north of San Francisco. The new project will tap geo-thermal energy by fracturing hard rock more than two miles deep to extract its heat. AltaRock, has secured more than $36 million from the Energy Department, several large venture-capital firms, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and Google. AltaRock maintains that it will steer clear of large faults and that it can operate safely.
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(Satallite photo of the 2004 Geysers Fire in California, not steam from the geysers!)
Residents of the region, which straddles Lake and Sonoma Counties, have already been protesting swarms of smaller earthquakes set off by a less geologically invasive set of energy projects there. AltaRock officials said that they chose the spot in part because the history of mostly small quakes reassured them that the risks were limited.
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Calpine is North America's leading geothermal power producer. Here at The Geysers, Calpine harnesses naturally heated steam from the earth to create electrical power. This renewable "green" power is available to consumers throughout California.
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