Fires threaten geothermal power plants

The Geysers--a network of geothermal power plants in Northern California--are being threatened by wildfires:

Thousands of residents throughout Northern California could be affected with power outages today and beyond because the fire whipped through an area known as The Geysers - billed as the largest collection of geothermal plants in the world. More than 20 plants tap subterranean steam piped to generating units dotting 30 square miles of Sonoma and Lake counties.

The Geysers supplies power to homes and businesses along the Highway 101 corridor from the Golden Gate Bridge north to the Oregon border. Also, homes and businesses throughout inland portions of Sonoma, Lake and Napa counties receive power generated by the plants.

Of the 1,000-megawatt capacity in The Geysers grid, 750 megawatts are controlled by San Jose-based Calpine Corp. Kent Robertson, a spokesman for Calpine, said Monday that 500 megawatts of the 750 under Calpine's control were off-line as a result of the fire.

As California faces its first heatwave in seevral weeks, the last thing the state needs is a reduction in capacity, even if it is localized.