A utility-scale geothermal generation facility in California's Imperial Valley is it its last phase of testing and will be ready to join the grid with 49.9 MW of power later this month, EnergySource says.

Hudson Ranch I was successfully synchronized with the electric grid and had what the company termed "outstanding well field test results."

The Salton Sea field is characterized as a very hot and extremely permeable liquid-dominated resource that is ideal for power generation, but it also has high minerals concentration that make energy project development there what EnergySource termed "a very specialized endeavor."

Hudson Ranch I is the first plant built in the Salton Sea field in 20 years, the company noted. It will sell all of its energy, capacity and environmental attributes to Salt River Project (“SRP”), a municipal power and irrigation district in Tempe, Ariz., in a 30-year deal. SRP is also online to buy power from a twin plant to be built next.