ARTICLE TITLE: Clean Energy from Filthy Water AUTHOR/SOURCE: Jane Braxton Little

MAIN POINTS: Santa Rosa and Calpine Corporation, an energy company are partners in the world's largest geothermal wastewater-to-power project They are using urban effluent to generate clean energy, improving life not only for humans but also for fish Santa Rosa Geysers Recharge Project pumps 12 million gallons of treated wastewater through a pipeline to a mountaintop 40 miles from the city. Injects it down into an aquifer. Hot rocks boil the water into steam, which is piped to the surface to drive electricity-generating turbines A sister project in Lake County recycles 8 million gallons of wastewater a day. Together, installations generate 200 megawatts of electricity-equivalent to the output of a modest-size power plant without discharging greenhouse gases or pollutants in the atmosphere Electricity is sent as far as San Francisco Technique could supply 10% of nation's electricity by 2050 To succeed, plans to expand drilling here to start elsewhere will have to take into account small earthquakes from extracting steam Other communities are exploring various styles of geothermal energy Partnership of Calpine and Santa Rosa and Lake County fixed problems of depletion of underground resources, plants running out of steam, and to find a way to dispose groundwater while meeting state environmental requirements. First recycled-water-to-electricity project in Lake County and Santa Rosa are poised to expand Lake County plants to extend pipeline beyond Clear Lake to accept wastewater from Lakeport and other communities. Calpine entered the geothermal business in 1989 and operates 19 of 21 Geysers power plants, spread across 40 square miles of steep slopes pocked with hundreds of steam walls

$250 million Santa Rosa project presented daunting technical challenges. To get wastewater from Santa Rosa to the Geysers, a pipeline passes underneath city streets, residential developments and open fields A steep single-lane road leads to the pinnacle which is dominated by a dark-green three-story tank no different from any municipal water tank except for its contents: one million gallons of wastewater The water has been processed in three stages along the way: physical treatment in sedimentation tanks to remove grease, oil and impurities Biological treatment to break down organic matter and remove nutrients and additional compounds and sand or activated carbon filtration to remove remaining organic matter and parasites Wastewater is exposed to ultraviolet light to kill any lingering bacteria Calpine uses $2.5 million worth of its own geothermal electricity to pump water. Since Calpine began injecting effluent into the ground, residents have experienced a dramatic increase in earthquakes A community less than a mile from the closest installation recorded 2,562 jolts and 24 magnitudes great than 4.0 Extracting steam from a subterranean magma-heated reservoir cools it, causing rocks to contract By generating 200 megawatts of electricity from wastewater, Santa Rosa and Lake County have effectively reduced greenhouse gas emissions by two billion pounds a year Geothermal systems could produce more than 100,000 megawatts of electricity in the U,S In May 2009, the Obama administration made $350 million available for geothermal development including $80 million for enhanced geothermal projects Treated effluent is a commercially viable alternative to freshwater for steam -generated electricity. Our residents are benefiting, the environment is benefiting and people all over the world can use this model to improve their own communities. AUTHOR'S POINT:

These authors are working together to create the world's largest geothermal wastewater-topower project, with the use of effluent, they can clean wastewater to use as energy that can improve life for humans. The way this works is by first pumping out gallons of treated wastewater through a pipeline to a mountaintop. Then, it is injected down into an aquifer. Hot rocks boil the water into steam, which is piped to the surface to drive electricity-generating turbines. The water gets treated in a three step process: 1) physical treatment in sedimentation tanks to remove grease, oil and impurities 2) break down organic matter and remove nutrients and to have sand to remove the remaining organic matter and parasites 3) expose the wastewater to ultraviolet light to kill any lingering bacteria. This method is beneficial but, it can also be harmful. Injection of effluent into the ground has increased the rates of earthquakes around the area. A community less than a mile from the closest installation recorded 2,562 movements and 24 magnitudes greater than 4.0. Geothermal systems can produce more than 100,000 megawatts of electricity in the United States. These systems benefit residents, the environment, and people all over the world can use this model to improve their own communities. MY THOUGHTS: I think that these geothermal plants are very useful, and having them all over the world can impact our environments. There shouldn't be one in every city, because the more geothermal plants, the more earthquakes will occur. A way to solve this is to have piping above ground instead of underground. Piping above ground creates less risk of earthquakes. If there is less risk of earthquakes, there should be more geothermal plants put in place to benefit us and the environment. The mountains and view would not look right, but it is better to think of the things that will improve our lives and the environment. So what? Geothermal systems: A way to produce electricity that will benefit humans and the environment. What if..? Geothermal systems increased earthquake rate? Says who? Jane Braxton Little, Dan Carlson, Mike Sherman What does this remind you of? This reminds me of Solar Panels.