Friday, January 1, 2010

(INACCURATE HEADLINE! SEE UPDATE) Geopressure geothermal electrical production harvests otherwise wasted energy from natural gas production

Geopressure energy involves harnessing the excess pressure in natural gas for production of electricity.  The gas naturally has one hundred to eight hundred times more pressure than needed for household use.  As the gas travels from the well through processing plants and onto storage and use the pressure is reduced at several points along the way.

Since at least the 1980's researchers and entrepreneurs have explored ways to harvest the energy for electrical production.  Because this energy is a byproduct of natural gas production which is currently being wasted it is considered a carbon free energy source. It also provides baseload electrical power which is the sort of power that utilities assert is most needed.  

(While what I wrote about geopresssure is accurate it has nothing to do with the Sologen geothermal energy project as I have since learned.)
 
Below is a press release concerning the award of a contract to a San Antonio company, Sologen Systems to manage a geopressure project that will produce 400 megawatts of power.  They will be making a presentation to certified investors on the project on January 6, 2009 at 7 pm in Concord Plaza. 

Part of the information in the press release was also included in a San Antonio Express News 12/31/2009 article.

 The linear electrical power engine is demonstrated in this video:




SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Free Green Energy, LLC announced today, the engagement of San Antonio based Sologen Systems, Inc. as Project Manager for a major enhanced geopressure electrical generating project. The first stage of the project calls for developing a total of 200 geopressured wells in the States of Mississippi and Texas. The project is expected to ultimately generate baseload electrical power of at least 400 megawatts. Total capital cost is estimated to be $280 million.


Free Green Energy's partner in the venture is Green Well Power, LLC of Vancouver, BC. Green Well Power is the exclusive North American licensee for the revolutionary linear power engine which will be used to harvest the wells' kinetic energy and drive the electrical generators. The linear driver was developed and patented by Linear Power, Ltd of Long Beach, Mississippi.


Geothermal and geopressure resources are available across the United States. They provide renewable energy and can supply a constant source of baseload electricity. While the sun and wind are major potential sources of renewable energy, their energy varies greatly over time, as when there is no wind, or at night in the case of solar. Geothermal and geopressure energy however, are not interruptible and provide energy 24/7 while diversifying our nation's renewable energy portfolio.


Geothermal and geopressure energy have low environmental risk and impact. Used with a closed-loop power plant, such as our linear driver, the system has near zero environmental impact and emits no greenhouse gases.


Geothermal and geopressure energy also have the potential to make a significant contribution to energy independence. The resource size and domestic distribution, coupled with technology advancements will help reduce national dependence on hydrocarbons for electricity generation and free these critical resources for other uses.


Free Green Energy, headquartered in Houston, Texas was organized in 2008 to identify and develop geothermal and geopressure energy resources and use them to generate and sell green electricity.


Sologen Systems is a San Antonio, Texas based RE Development Company. Sologen Systems provides turn-key business development, strategic planning, project management and finance solutions for tax-advantaged RE projects. Sologen Systems specializes in large-commercial to utility-scale Solar PV Systems and Enhanced Geothermal & Geopressure Systems. Sologen Systems identifies the available and applicable government subsidies for each project and structures appropriate corporate relationships to maximize tax benefits and ROI.


SOURCE Sologen Systems

5 comments:

  1. Article says: "Each well will be re-engineered as a producing, high-pressure, high-volume water well. This high energy flow passes through the proprietary Linear Driver Engine, which is then harnessed and converted to base-load electric power. Once the energy has been extracted the water is re-injected into a lower pressure rock formation in the earth."

    Does this mean they will be pumping the waste water
    into the local aquifer?

    Does the water exist in the well formation naturally
    or was it pumped there in the gas extraction process?

    Doesn't sound Closed Loop to me.

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  2. New release from GreenWell Power posted
    on the SologenSystems web site found by
    following the "Presentation"link on
    the blog.
    So it should have read, GreenWell Power
    news release states:

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, that does raise interesting questions doesn't it? The impression I had from the cryostar site was that the process was simply to capture the pressure that needed to be released and convert it to electricity. But this is something different. Perhaps more information will come from Sologen's investor briefing.

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  4. Wayne Stevenson ThomasJanuary 26, 2010 at 6:37 PM

    I need to revise the article in light of the explation they gave about the project at the Sierra Club meeting. Solar Gen says they have a closed loop system.

    ReplyDelete