California Appeals Court Orders New Environmental Review for Imperial County Geothermal–Lithium Project Image: California Salton Lake Sea Hell’s Kitchen geothermal and lithium extraction plan sent back for deeper water, air-quality and mitigation analysis under CEQA A California appeals court has ordered Imperial County to conduct a more rigorous environmental review of the proposed Hell’s Kitchen geothermal power plant and lithium extraction project near the Salton Sea. The Fourth District Court of Appeal found that the county’s original environmental impact report (EIR) did not adequately address long-term water availability, enforceable mitigation measures for water shortages, or potential air-quality impacts tied to the receding Salton Sea. The ruling partially reverses a lower court decision and remands the case to Imperial County Superior Court, requiring the county and project developer Controlled Thermal Resources to address the identified deficiencies before the project can mo...
image source : AP/ Business Wire A groundbreaking study on the potential of geothermal energy in Texas has been published, drawing attention to the immense promise of this renewable source of energy. Geothermal energy, which harnesses heat from beneath the earth's surface, has been utilized for thousands of years for its therapeutic properties in hot springs. However, until now, the technology to extract this energy on a large scale has been restricted to areas near volcanoes. Researchers from five Texas universities, along with the International Energy Agency and the University Lands office, have found that the new advancements in geothermal energy extraction make it feasible to extract this energy anywhere. The lead author of the study, Ken Wisian of the School of Geo-sciences at the University of Texas Austin, spoke about their findings in an interview. Wisian cited three key factors that have made geothermal energy a more viable option: improvements in drilling speed and effici...