The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Board of Directors has adopted two major policy initiatives designed to bolster renewable energy development in the Salton Sea area of Southern California, where up to 2000 MW of untapped geothermal resources are located.

In a resolution entitled “Incentives to Interconnect and Export Renewable Resources,” the board committed itself and the district to advancing California's renewable energy goals by acting as a catalyst for the transmission of new geothermal, solar- and wind-powered generation proposed for the region.

The resolution contains two components intended to facilitate the development and export of renewable energy from the Imperial Valley to the Southern California coastal plain. “By adopting this resolution,” says IID Board President Stella Mendoza, “the IID is placing itself at the vanguard of change in harnessing and transmitting renewable resources within its control area. We see this as a win-win for IID ratepayers and California taxpayers.”

The first component of the plan would be to significantly increase the district's current export capability over the next decade. This renewable transmission program includes the construction of new 230-kV lines and performing system upgrades at key interconnection facilities to accommodate new generation. Over the same time period, IID would build a dedicated 230-kV line from its Midway substation through the Salton Sea area (where the undeveloped geothermal resource is thought to be greatest) to Bannister Road, providing access to the district's network grid.

This transmission corridor would offer up to 1600 MW of renewable energy export capacity from the Salton Sea area.