Gemcor History: From the 1960's, when our first steam well was just a curiosity at the edge of farmland by the Salton Sea, Gemcor leadership was instrumental in the legal and technological development of this natural resource.

Now, Gemcor is associated with 27% of the Northern Imperial Valley's total 600 MW geothermal power production. What's more, Cal Energy has met California Energy Commission's development requirements and is poised to start production soon at our two Black Rock sites, which are now licensed to produce an additional 200 MW of electricity.

How does geothermal energy compare with other sources of electricity?

Most forms of commercial electrical power generation are based on a single technology: spinning a wire coil in a magnetic field, causing an electric current to flow through the coil. Thus mechanical energy (motion) is converted into electrical energy. Commonly, power plants rely on combustion of fossil fuels such as coal or gas to produce heat and steam to drive turbines and generate electricity.

A geothermal plant uses steam from water already heated deep in the earth by the magma.

By comparison, windmills and hydroelectric dams drive turbines with direct pressure of wind and water, using no steam.