Geothermal Field Trip

The Geysers, CA

May 8, 1999

Control room of the ~30MW West Ford Flat power plant

Calpine plant operator teaching the students about the power plant

Water level in the power plant condenser

H2S abatement system at West Ford Flat

Spare stationary blades for the 15MW turbines

Three cooling tower pumps. Two are in use, one is for stand-by

Forced draft cooling tower

Tree damage as a result of geothermal surface manifestations

Fauna in the hot water stream

Kewen Li (Stanford Geothermal Program) with Alfred Truesdell

Water extracted from the creek for injection

The injection line runs from the storage tank to the injection well

Different sized casings at the well head

The first commercial well drilled at The Geysers, still in operation

An uncontrolled well vents steam from a silencer. This well was drilled on unstable ground

An injection well

Further extraction of creek water for injection into the reservoir. Water is taken from 10ft below the creek bottom, using the gravel bed as a natural filter. The clean water is then pumped up to the injection well

Pumps used to lift the creek water up to the injection well

Overlook of The Geysers

Overlook of The Geysers