Old Steam Field ... BIG New Well

摘要

On Jan. 20, Calpine completed a new steam production well at its Geysers operations in northern California. The GDC-31 geothermal well was drilled at the historic site of Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) power plant Units 1-2. Although well tests and production data are still preliminary, the new well is considered a serious contender for the title of most productive steam well in the geothermal field. The area where the new well was drilled—across Big Sulfur Creek from the old Geysers Resort—was the focal point for the first commercial steam and power production at The Geysers. An historic monument near the site commemorates the drilling of Magma-1, the first modern geothermal steam well, in 1955. That success was followed by a series of shallow wells drilled by Magma-Thermal, and ultimately by the construction of PG&E's 12.5-megawatt (MW) Unit 1, commissioned in 1960.