Backgrounder: Geothermal resource production, steam gathering, and power generation at Salton Sea Unit 3, Calipatria, California

The 10,000-kilowatt Salton Sea Unit 1 power plant was designed to demonstrate that electrical power generation, using the highly saline brines from the Salton Sea geothermal reservoir, was technically and economically feasible. Unit 1, owned by Earth Energy, a Unocal subsidiary, began operating in 1982, initiating an intensive testing program which established the design criteria necessary to construct the larger 47,500-kilowatt Unit 3 power plant, unit 3 contains many of the proprietary or patented technological innovations developed during this program. Design, construction and start-up of the Unit 3 power generating facility began in December, 1986, and was completed in 26 months. By the end of 1988, the brine handling system was in full operation, and the turbine had been tested at design speed. Desert Power Company, a Unocal subsidiary, owns the power generating facility. Unocal owns the brine resource production facility. Power is transmitted by the Imperial Irrigation District to Southern California Edison Company