Sunday, May 05, 2013

Geothermal power from mine waste heat

Electricity is being produced from low-temperature waste geothermal heat at a gold mine in Nevada, offering the potential for broader application of the technology at mines and oil and gas operations in many areas of the country.

ElectraTherm, a company that specializes in small-scale, distributed power produced from waste heat,  commissioned their second geothermal project utilizing low  temperature (170- 240°F/77-16°C) geothermal brine to generate electricity at the Florida Canyon Mine operated by Jipangu International. [Right, Electratherm's power module.  From the DOE Peer Review presentation - http://www4.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/sites/default/files/documents/gtp_pr2012_smallscaleelectrical.pdf ]

The project is supported by a grant from the US DOE Geothermal Technologies Office and will be generating electricity this year for less than 6¢ a kilowatt/hr, with ElectraTherm's new plug-and-play technology. DOE said "Building on this first-of-its-kind success, this emission-free electricity is the first in the nation to be generated from cost-free geothermal brine at a mine operation, and the technology has the potential for extremely broad application in many parts of the country, including oil and gas operations."

Treehugger.com notes that waste heat offers more power potential than all renewable resources combined.







PDF
Geothermal Technologies Office: Low-Temperature Geothermal Resources

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