Issue 2: IID sells 3,144 acres of lithium-rich land for $500
Sale of land near the Salton Sea allows Controlled Thermal Resources to develop its lithium extraction plant.
Fresh this Week
The Sale Is Official
At its meeting on Tuesday, the Imperial Irrigation District, or IID — the public utility agency that oversees water and power in the region — approved the sale of 3,144 acres of land to Controlled Thermal Resources to build out its lithium extraction plant known as Hell’s Kitchen Geothermal.
While CTR paid $500 for the land, the agreement comes with three stipulations that would allow the IID to revert ownership of the land:
The company must produce a minimum of 49.9 megawatts by July 15, 2024
The company must also pay royalties from an additional 200 megawatts and 20,000 of lithium product within 10 years
The company build additional drainage to/from the Salton Sea within 10 years
Price of Lithium Skyrockets
Lithium prices have reached an all-time high — $78,000 per ton, which is a 600% increase from last year’s price. | Source: Trading Economics
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Between the Lines
Mapping Out the Lithium Valley
What Locals Want: Jobs
When you ask residents of the Imperial Valley what they hope to get out of lithium extraction development in the region, they say they want jobs. And for good reason: Imperial County’s unemployment level is at 14.7% — almost four times the national average of 3.8%.
Last week, two of the three companies eyeing lithium in the region made their job-creation case in front of the Lithium Valley Commission. Controlled Thermal Resources, CTR, says it will create more than 4,000 jobs. It told the commission 95% of those jobs will go to residents of Imperial County.
Berkshire Hathaway Energies, or Cal Energy, says its jobs will range from high-level technical jobs like engineers and chemists but it will also create entry-level jobs that those with a high school degree could enter.
But when, or if, those jobs will open up is yet to be determined. BHE is likely to be the biggest employer of all given it currently operates 10 geothermal plants near the Salton Sea. And yet, it says it will create up to 200 new jobs associated with lithium extraction.
The exact number of jobs expected to be created “is yet to be determined,” California Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia told News Channel 3 recently. Garcia represents the state’s 56th district, which includes cities and unincorporated communities in eastern Riverside County and Imperial County.
In our private Facebook Group, a number of members stressed the need for technical training and education at the college and high school levels.
“So important to realize that even those basic jobs require a knowledge of math, English comprehension, etc. A good topic for those with an open mind in education,” one person said.
Still, others worry that without education and training in the Imperial Valley, those jobs could go to residents of the Coachella Valley.
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