Pratt & Whitney demonstrating mobile unit at Expo in Reno

Alexander Richter 12 Eki 2009

While at the Geothermal Expo in Reno, I had the chance to see the PureCycle unit at the Peppermill Casino in Reno. Now I just found this little news piece on the demonstration.

I also posted pictures of the unit in Reno on ThinkGeoEnergy’s Flickr website.

According to this news item, Pratt & Whitney, in conjunction with Chena Power LLC in Alaska and the U.S. Department of Energy, demonstrated a mobile geothermal power generation unit at the 2009 Geothermal Energy Expo in Reno, Nev. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX) company.

“The new mobile version of Pratt & Whitney’s PureCycle technology allows customers to relocate valuable energy generating capability from one geothermal or waste heat resource to another as circumstances dictate,” said John Fox, director, Pratt & Whitney Power Systems.

“This project builds upon the successful public-private partnership that exists among Chena Power, Pratt & Whitney and the Department of Energy.” Originally designed for the oil and gas industry, the PureCycle system can generate electricity from various heat sources with temperatures between 190 and 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a mobile unit at existing oil and gas sites can expedite return on investment for geothermal power, as the majority of development cost is in exploration, drilling and infrastructure.

The 2009 Geothermal Energy Expo was the second stop on a demonstration tour that will end at an oil and gas field in Florida, owned by Quantum Resource Management, LLC. There, the unit will go into operational service in an oil and gas operating environment, further demonstrating the value of base load renewable energy.

This project capitalizes on the benefits of the existing PureCycle system including use of high volume manufacturing parts with short lead times, low temperature capability and modular installations to suit customers’ needs. A new feature is the self-contained cooling system that uses resource water to replenish the cooling tower water, thus eliminating the need for a separate fresh water source.

The innovative system demonstrates how low temperature geothermal technology that can diversify the nation’s energy supply with base load renewable energy while creating jobs and economic benefits.”

Source: TransWorld News