Anaheim, Ca., will become a leader in renewable energy when geothermal power operations begin as soon as this week.

Anaheim Public Utilities has teamed with Raser Technologies, a producer of geothermal power, to purchase 11 megawatts of geothermal power, enough electricity to supply about 10,000 homes in Anaheim, a city of about 345,000 residents.

The power will be transmitted to Anaheim from a new power plant in the south central desert of Utah. The plant, the first of its type, allows the electricity to be generated using steam from low to medium heat that is then mixed with a liquid substance. One the substance reaches a boiling point and converts to steam, it is channeled through a turbine to generate the power.

“Geothermal energy best meets the needs of the Utility,” said Marcie Edwards, general manager of Anaheim Public Utilities. “It’s cost-effective, reliable, abundant, and very importantly, produces zero emissions.”

While geothermal power isn’t new, this system is unique because it is able to produce power at a heated temperature of about 220 degrees as opposed to 450 degrees, which is the standard for most geothermal power systems, according to Raser Technologies officials. The low to medium temperature heat source -  from thousands of feet below ground – is more widely available than the higher heat source.

Unlike wind and solar power, this type of geothermal power can be produced 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“These types of green power are taking the place of fossil fuel plants that release emissions into the environment,” said Cameron Donahue, a spokesman for Hayden IR, an investment partner of Raser Technologies. “This also helps the city of Anaheim and the state of California — meet its goal of 20 percent renewable energy by 2015.”

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

The concept drawings here, provided by the CHSR Authority and graphic animators Newlands & Company, Inc., illustrate how the system would work and be meshed with existing infrastructure.

Building the rail lines would cost less than adding highways, according to the CHSR Authority — as suggested by this picture where the train could carry as many passengers as are riding in four lanes of highway traffic.