Geothermal Royalties Revenues

Sonoma County is home to The Geysers – 30 square miles of naturally occurring steam field reservoirs, located in the Mayacamas Mountains. It is the largest complex of geothermal power plants in the world – harnessing enough power to generate electricity for 725,000 homes.

In the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Congress changed the scheme for geothermal royalty payments to share 25% of the royalties with counties in order to mitigate the impacts of local geothermal development and production on county governments. However, since 2010, these funds were no longer permanently allocated and are placed in jeopardy each year, with intervention required by the County’s legislative delegation in order to provide short-term fixes.

This change has a significant economic impact on Sonoma County and its programs: historically, the geothermal royalties have provided approximately $1.1 million annually. These funds are used to support the County’s public safety programs, road maintenance, law enforcement, firefighting, emergency health care, search and rescue, and open space preservation associated with the impacts of geothermal development. These costs are in excess of those covered by the Geothermal Royalties and the County cannot afford to continue these services if royalty payments are eliminated.

Congress has continually elected to restore the counties’ share of these funds, and it is critical that this continue. In an era when state and local revenues are diminishing, Sonoma County cannot afford to lose access to the geothermal royalties needed to mitigate local impacts of development and production of its geothermal resources.

Support legislative or budget action that permanently protects the County’s geothermal royalty share of 25% as intended by the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

2016 Renewable Energy Production in California