Hundreds Flood Palm Springs for Annual Geothermal Meeting

[bc_video video_id="6087213200001″ account_id="5728959025001″ player_id="Hkbio1usDM" embed="in-page" padding_top="56%" autoplay="" min_width="0px" max_width="640px" width="100%" height="100%"] Hundreds of people head to the Palm Springs Convention Center for one of the biggest annual meetings of the Global Geothermal Community. "We have members from around the world and we have attendees from at least 30 different countries," says Ian Crawford of the Geothermal Resources Council. Crawford says the close proximity from Palm Springs to the Salton Sea was a deciding factor in choosing this years location, "we could run field trips to the Salton Sea to see the power plants." The can experience Southern California’s geothermal gem and one of the largest undeveloped geothermal resources in the world. Rod Colwell, the CEO of Controlled Thermal Resources says, "it contains approximately 1,100 megawatts or power and a large amount of lithium." According to the Geothermal Resource Council, one megawatt of power is enough to power nearly 1000 homes and create 10 jobs. And if you’re wondering if using the Earth’s internal heat for electrical power will contribute to climate change, Crawford says, "it’s one of the best things we can use to stop the effects of climate change. Instead of using natural gas or oil, we can use clean renewable electricity instead." According to the experts, geothermal power plants do not release harmful gases and can co-exist with agriculture and fish farms. Sam Abraham of the Geothermal Resources Group says, "it’s green and its renewable and you’re not causing any damage to the environment."