Beowawe Geothermal Facility, Beowawe, N.V.
Renewable Energy World Excellence in Renewable Energy Awards Winner: Geothermal Project of the Year
Amidst a year of frustrating inactivity in the geothermal industry, many project developers are struggling with uncertain policies and difficult development procedures. This is an especially hard pill to swallow in the geothermal-rich state of Nevada.
But despite a mostly quiet 2011 in the geothermal industry, the Beowawe Geothermal Facility in Nevada managed to develop a 2.5-MW addition to their existing 16.7-MW geothermal plant that went online in 1985 with the help of a DOE loan. The project demonstrates technology that takes advantage of resources not generally considered viable for utility scale deployment — proving the technical and economic feasibility of electricity generation from geothermal resources of 205°F. Beowawe utilizes the first commercial use of a low temperature bottoming cycle at a geothermal flash power plant.
It uses new binary expanders that allow the use of lower resource temperatures for geothermal and waste heat applications. An axial turbine focused mainly on geothermal and waste heat applications using R134a and R245fa and as the primary working fluid, covers gross power output from 500 kW - 5.0 MW output with temperatures from 200 - 500°F (97 - 260°C).
Though the plant has experienced resource decline over its life and had reduced output, well below the design output, the new technology used in this addition will help take advantage of lower temperatures and continue to produce clean energy.
This 2.5-MW binary plant was completed by Terra-Gen Power in conjunction with TAS Energy’s technology. Said Jim Pagano, CEO of Terra-Gen Power, “An increase in the DOE’s geothermal budget allowed this project to become a reality, which lead to additional jobs and promises more clean renewable energy for the future as this project paves the way for additional low temperature binary projects in Nevada and elsewhere.”
Amidst a year of frustrating inactivity in the geothermal industry, many project developers are struggling with uncertain policies and difficult development procedures. This is an especially hard pill to swallow in the geothermal-rich state of Nevada.
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| Beowawe Geothermal Facility |
It uses new binary expanders that allow the use of lower resource temperatures for geothermal and waste heat applications. An axial turbine focused mainly on geothermal and waste heat applications using R134a and R245fa and as the primary working fluid, covers gross power output from 500 kW - 5.0 MW output with temperatures from 200 - 500°F (97 - 260°C).
Though the plant has experienced resource decline over its life and had reduced output, well below the design output, the new technology used in this addition will help take advantage of lower temperatures and continue to produce clean energy.
This 2.5-MW binary plant was completed by Terra-Gen Power in conjunction with TAS Energy’s technology. Said Jim Pagano, CEO of Terra-Gen Power, “An increase in the DOE’s geothermal budget allowed this project to become a reality, which lead to additional jobs and promises more clean renewable energy for the future as this project paves the way for additional low temperature binary projects in Nevada and elsewhere.”
