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| Cove Fort Geothermal Power Plant in Utah. (Courtesy EGPNA) |
Enel S.p.A., through its subsidiary Enel Green Power North America, Inc. (EGPNA), has started operations at the world’s first integrated, commercial-scale geothermal-hydro power plant at its Cove Fort site in Utah. At Cove Fort, EGPNA added a fully submersible downhole generator technology to a geothermal injection well, combining geothermal and hydroelectric power at one site.
Findings from the initial testing phase held between July and September 2016 reveal that the addition of the hydro generator to the geothermal injection well resulted in an overall increase in output of 1,008 MWh over this time, offsetting the energy consumption of the Cove Fort plant by 8.8%, therefore improving the plant’s operational efficiency.
The innovative generator technology captures the energy of the water flowing back into the earth to generate additional electricity while also better controlling the flow of brine back into the ground. The presence of the generator creates pressure against the brine flow, which reduces the flow’s turbulence into the well, hence minimizing the likelihood of any potential damage to the well. The result is a first-of-its-kind innovation that can reduce operational and maintenance expenses, while also having the potential to generate additional revenues.