Recharge News has a report on a new geothermal power plant opening in southern California - EnergySource starts 50MW geothermal plant at Salton Sea.

A 49.9MW geothermal plant came on line this month, tapping heat from the Salton Sea field, a proven geothermal resource area that hasn't seen a new generator in more than two decades.

The developer, EnergySource, already has a power purchase agreement for a second plant in the southern California area.
"With this team and so much available capacity in this resource, we have a development pipeline of new geothermal projects for the coming decade that will help California and Southwestern utilities meet their state-mandated renewable energy requirements,” says chief executive Dave Watson.

The $400m Hudson Ranch 1, under construction since May 2010, draws on what EnergySource describes as "one of the largest and highest temperature geothermal resources in North America", with an "extremely permeable liquid dominated resource". Two of the plant's three production wells draw enough steam to generate more than 40MW each -- "among the largest producers in the world" -- while a third is capable of more than 15MW.

“The Salton Sea geothermal resource is robust, with 326MW in 10 existing projects currently operating at a capacity factor substantially greater than 90%, with a development potential of 1,400MW or more,” says Dr. Subir Sanyal of GeothermEx, a resource consultant for the project's financiers.

Fast Company has an article on Simbol Mining's plans to produce lithium from the Salton Sea in California - Salton Sea Could Be Source of Lithium Riches for the U.S..

In 18 months, Simbol Mining will attempt to make some serious cash from the Salton Sea's lithium-filled waters (the Sea has a lithium concentration of at least 200 parts per million) with its first commercial lithium extraction plant. The company, a spinoff from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, plans to swipe lithium from the geothermal brine of already-existing geothermal plants in the sea, according to Greentech Media.

The toxic brine--a byproduct of geothermal energy production--is usually treated as waste. But Simbol believes that the brine byproducts of just one of the five geothermal plants in the Salton Sea could produce millions of dollars worth of lithium each year. With four more 50 MW geothermal plants lined up for production in the sea, Simbol could be looking at a veritable cash cow.

The Salton Sea's lithium riches won't just benefit Simbol. As it stands, the U.S. relies on often-unstable countries (Bolivia, Afghanistan) for lithium supplies. And as electric cars become more popular, the demand for lithium batteries also continues to grow. If Simbol can remove international lithium producers from the equation, lithium prices could drop precipitously--and that might mean cheaper hybrid and electric vehicles for consumers.