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Company proposing geothermal power plant
10-megawatt plant would be located on Lower Klamath
Road
A Utah-based energy company is proposing to build a 10-megawatt geothermal power plant on Lower Klamath Road.
The Klamath County Planning Commission will consider zoning and overlay changes to the county’s comprehensive plan at a 6 p.m. meeting today. The company also is seeking a conditional-use permit to construct the automated power plant.
Owned by Liskey Farms
The facility would be built on land owned by Liskey Farms, according to county planning documents, and require about six acres initially. Klamath Geothermal, a subsidiary of Columbia Renewable Power, LLC in Provo, Utah, is listed as the project’s applicant.
“They’ve got a lot of people interested because it’s green power,” said Tracey Liskey with Liskey Farms.
Les Wilson, county planning director, said the plant would be the largest of its kind in Oregon and would generate power for public sale.
A large number of construction workers would be needed to build it, but after completion the plant would be almost entirely automated.
Developers would deliver the power by connecting with a Bonneville Power Administration sub-station near Merrill.
Wilson said no one has voiced opposition to the proje c t . T he K la mat h County natural resources advisory committee also has approved of the project.
“It’s straight green all the way through,” Wilson said.
Discussion since the fall
Liskey and the company have discussed the power plant since last fall. Liskey Farms has a large geothermal resource beneath it, which has been used to heat greenhouses and other projects.
The company initially wanted to finish construction by the end of 2008, but other projects have pushed that timeline to early 2009, Liskey said.
At maximum capacity, the proposed plant could provide power for about 10,000 homes.