Port of Oakland adds geothermal to its energy mix

The Port of Oakland has purchased up to $13.5m worth of geothermal energy over 12 years.

Port of Oakland said that the geothermal energy would come from the Geysers Power Company, about 115 km north of San Francisco near Middletown. It will be used by the port and its tenants at both the seaport and airport.

The Geysers is dubbed as one of the largest and cleanest geothermal steam fields in the world and the largest complex of geothermal power plants in the world with 13 facilities along the Sonoma and Lake County border. It has a net generating capacity of about 725MW of electricity – enough to power 725,000 homes or the entirety of San Francisco.

“The port’s mix of power resources demonstrates our commitment to providing cleaner energy, reliable power and rates lower than surrounding utilities,” said the port’s utilities manager, Jared Carpenter.

The geothermal energy purchase begins on January 1, 2025, and runs through December 31, 2036, and will average around $1.12m per year.

Geothermal energy will account for about 10% per year of the port’s overall energy portfolio. Port utilities derive their primary sources of sustainable energy from a range of options prioritising geothermal, biomass, solar, and wind energy.

“This contract is significant because it is a new energy deal for the port of Oakland – not an extension of a previous deal – that helps enhance our power supply portfolio with another fully renewable natural resource,” Carpenter added.

This deal is the latest green energy addition to the energy mix for the port. At the beginning of the year, the port’s stake in a newly expanded solar array at Antelope Valley Solar Ranch in California went online. As a result, the port now gets approximately 30% of its power from solar.

In another emission-lowering push, the port told its tenants that operate cargo-handling equipment to create a plan for converting the equipment to zero emissions in March this year.