The following is an op-ed composed by UC Davis-trained geologist Bob Schneider and UC Davis’s Senior Ecologist Dr. Chad Roberts. Remember, opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of MendoFever, nor have we checked the submission for accuracy:
The Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) is surrendering the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license for the Potter Valley Project (PVP). PG&E identifies this action as a business decision because of the project’s failure to produce revenues that offset its operating costs, even though PG&E customers pay higher rates for delivered energy than just about everywhere else in the Unted States. In our opinion, PG&E has determined to rid itself of the PVP for a different kind of economic consideration, after determining that the Scott Dam represents an economic liability that the company cannot afford. A key factor in this determination is the increased understanding of the seismic hazards represented by the Bartlett Springs Fault Zone (BSFZ), which runs through Lake Pillsbury approximately 5000 feet east of Scott Dam.
As part of the PVP relicensing process, FERC held an auction for potential alternative licensees for the PVP. No takers made offers to accept the ownership of and responsibility for this existing hydropower license, for the same reason that PG&E does not want the responsibility for these existing conditions: a recognition of the outstanding risk that the BSFZ represents for the PVP licensee.
The history of the PVP doesn’t need to be repeated here, but the scientific understanding of Earth sciences that has developed in the past century, which is critical in considering the best options for the future of the PVP, is less well-known. The geological framework represented by plate tectonics is particularly significant in understanding the circumstances presented for the PVP. The dynamics of plate tectonics were not understood in the early 1900s when the Cape Horn and Scott Dams were designed and constructed. Over this past century, the scientific understanding of plate tectonics (including the Bartlett Springs Fault Zone) has developed continuously, and most of our current understanding of how tectonic dynamics affect northwestern California has developed fully only in the most recent 30 years…