ANAHEIM, CA (October 20, 2006) - Anaheim Public Utilities joined partner cities Glendale and Burbank earlier this week in celebrating the dedication of a second geothermal power plant in the Imperial Valley city of Heber. The three cities, as part of an agreement made in 2005 with the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA), will receive a total of 20 megawatts (MW) of geothermal power from the Ormat Geothermal Power Project.

“Anaheim will eventually be getting 12 MW from the facility,” said Marcie Edwards, Anaheim Public Utilities general manager. “We are currently receiving 6 MW with the remaining 6 MW scheduled in the coming months from this new plant.”

The first plant at the complex opened earlier this year, bringing 10 MW of geothermal to the participating cities.

“This 25-year contract will supply enough electricity to power 10,000 single-story homes until 2032,” Edwards said. “It is expected to add 3.2 percent to our renewable energy resources. “We now have contracts in place to bring our renewables to 9 percent of our total energy resources. We expect to be at 10 percent by 2010 and 20 percent by 2015.”

Geothermal energy, produced from underground heat, is not only a more environmentally friendly source of energy, it is also more reliable and economical. It uses the heat from the ground to generate electricity at a plant.

“Geothermal energy is still more expensive than producing electricity by burning a fossil fuel such as coal,” Edwards said, “but it is an infinite resource and is not dependent on oil and gas price fluctuations.”

Renewable resources are defined as non-fossil fueled resources. In addition to geothermal, they include wind, hydropower, solar, biomass, municipal solid waste and landfill gas. Anaheim’s renewable energy resources also include 4 percent wind power and 3 percent large hydroelectric.