The Power of Geothermal Energy
BHE Renewables is a leader in geothermal energy development and production, operating 10 facilities under the CalEnergy name in California’s Imperial Valley. With a total net capacity of 345 megawatts, these plants have been serving power customers and contributing to the local economy for more than four decades. Since CalEnergy began operations in 1982, our dedicated workforce has played a vital role in supporting the region’s way of life.
10 Geothermal Plants in Imperial Valley, California
How Geothermal Works
Geothermal power plants use the Earth's natural heat to generate renewable energy. Super-heated and pressurized brine is recovered from reservoirs up to a mile or more below the surface. The brine rises through production wells into a geothermal power plant. The brine pressure is then reduced, which "flashes" the brine to create steam that powers turbines, which generate electricity. The cooled brine travels down through injection wells into the same reservoir where it is naturally reheated and reused.
Why is Geothermal Important?
Geothermal power is an abundant and reliable energy source that provides solutions to growing energy demands. The plants can operate 24/7 with steady output, unaffected by weather or environmental conditions. This is known as “baseload” energy; the Earth’s natural heat offers essentially a limitless supply of power. Geothermal plants are flexible contributors to grid stability.
Lithium Development in the Imperial Valley
BHE Renewables and Oxy have launched a joint venture to demonstrate their ability to extract lithium from geothermal brine in California’s Imperial Valley using TerraLithium’s Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology. TerraLithium is a subsidiary of Oxy.
This partnership combines BHE Renewables’ access to geothermal brine and more than four decades of geothermal operations with Oxy’s century of brine processing expertise and TerraLithium’s advanced DLE process.
DLE uses a selective chemical process to extract lithium directly from the brine, allowing the remaining fluid to be reinjected into the reservoir. This closed-loop system significantly reduces land use, water consumption and environmental impact, making it a sustainable option to produce lithium.
The successful recovery of lithium from BHE Renewables’ existing geothermal plants is expected to produce approximately 90,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalents per year. That’s enough to produce approximately 11 million EV batteries annually.