Green Machines to generate electricity from mine’s “waste” heat

Florida Canyon Mine

In Nevada, two 50kW ElectraTherm Green Machines, scheduled for commissioning in September, will generate electric power from what is currently considered waste geothermal heat at the Florida Canyon Mine. The project is the first commercial geothermal application of the company’s Organic Rankine cycle technology powered by its patented Twin Screw Expander.

Bill Olson, ElectraTherm`s Senior VP of Business Development says that the systems were developed for use anywhere a warm fluid (200°F+) can be found. Heat from industrial waste is expected to be a major application and use in geothermal systems was envisioned from the start. The first Green Machine was installed at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, by Gulf Coast Green Energy in March of 2008 and has operated above its 50kW rated capacity.

At Florida Canyon, the mine’s 220°F groundwater will be used to create the electrical power while the Green Machines cool that water for further use in mining operations. The arrangement between Florida Canyon Mining, Inc. and ElectraTherm provides for a discounted equipment purchase price, with ElectraTherm owning the generated power. That power is in turn sold to the mine, also at a discount. Olson sees this as the model for their operations going forward. The project is scheduled for commissioning in September.

The company has also developed, and is taking orders now for, larger, 500kW machines and first deployment is due in the second quarter of 2010. ElectraTherm sees generation of 1MW or less as the sweet spot for all their systems, where they can produce electricity at lower costs than turbines. Among potential applications are tens of thousands of capped oil wells, which feature geothermal brine as a common byproduct.