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Transcript/ScriptLithium Valley (TV)
TEASER: California’s Lithium Valley Gears Up for Clean Energy Future
PUBLISHED AT: Wednesday, 04/06/2022 at 6pm
BYLINE: Mike O’Sullivan
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Brawley, California
VIDEOGRAPHER: Mike O’Sullivan, Roy Kim
VIDEO EDITOR: Mike O’Sullivan
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: BR, MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, photos from AFP, Reuters, YouTube graphic from Controlled Thermal Resources, Skype
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:39
VID APPROVED BY: Jepsen
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRODUCTION))
[[Lithium is a key component in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems, and California officials hope their state will become a major producer. Governor Gavin Newsom has said he wants California to become the "Saudi Arabia of lithium.” But residents of one community want some assurances first. Mike O'Sullivan reports from Lithium Valley in the California desert.]]
((NARRATOR))
Eleven geothermal plants now operate at this salty inland lake in the California desert.
The Australian-based company, Controlled Thermal Resources, is about to add another plant that will also generate power using
((COURTESY: Controlled Thermal Resources))
hot water from beneath the ground. And it will extract a valuable metal, lithium, along with other substances.
((end courtesy)) ((FOR RADIO: Rod Colwell is chief executive officer of Controlled Thermal Resources.)) ((Rod Colwell, CEO of Controlled Thermal Resources)) “We basically reduce the temperature of the brine, make renewable electricity from that 24/7, extract the lithium and any other minerals. We have rare earths as well.”
Lithium is a critical component of modern electric batteries.
It is widely found in the earth’s crust, says an industry analyst.
((FOR RADIO: … Chris Berry of House Mountain Partners.))
((Chris Berry, House Mountain Partners President))
((MANDATORY CG: Skype))
“Even here in the United States, it’s plentiful. The challenge is not just finding it and the extraction, but the purification.”
((COURTESY: Berkshire Hathaway Energy))
((NARRATOR))
Three companies, including Berkshire Hathaway Energy, are testing ways to extract and purify lithium from the underwater brine.
((COURTESY: Controlled Thermal Resources))
Each uses its own technology in a closed, environmentally sound system.
Much of the world’s lithium now comes from Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile, where it’s evaporated in pools, creating environmental problems, such as contaminated soil and toxic waste.
Or from Australia or China, where it is collected through open-pit mining.
((FOR RADIO: Geologist Michael McKibben is a research professor at the University of California, Riverside))
((Michael McKibben, University of California Riverside))
“It makes more sense to mine lithium here in the U.S., where we have really stringent environmental controls on mining so that we don’t thrash the environment.”
((COURTESY: WHITEHOUSE.GOV))
The Biden administration hopes to secure the U.S. supply in a market dominated by China.
Commercial lithium production could start at Salton Sea in two to four years, with potential for expansion to meet much of America’s demand – say geologists.
((FOR RADIO: Again, Professor Michael McKibben.))
((Michael McKibben, University of California Riverside))
“So if they get it up to about 400,000 (metric) tons per year of lithium carbonate equivalent, that’s equivalent to (present) world production.”
((NARRATOR))
With lithium prices soaring, the promise of jobs is attractive – says the head of a non-profit group who sits on the Lithium Valley Commission.
But Luis Olmedo wants written pledges from these energy companies to ensure this rural community benefits.
((FOR RADIO: Luis Olmedo is executive director of Comite Civico del Valle))
((Luis Olmedo, Comite Civico del Valle Executive Director))
“Whether it’s water, air, land, minerals and many more things. We’re not getting a return investment in our communities.”
((NARRATOR))
If the technology now being tested works as planned, this desert valley could become a hub for the green economy, producing power, lithium, and even batteries in an isolated part of the United States that may be crucial to the nation’s energy future.
((Mike O’Sullivan, VOA News, near Brawley, California))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Brawley, California
Embargo DateApril 6, 2022 16:49 EDT
Byline((Mike O’Sullivan, VOA News, near Brawley, California))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
