Chena Power studies potential oil field geothermal power production
Published Monday, August 11, 2008
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS — Clean-power crusader Bernie Karl and two major partners want to make electricity out of oil field water using geothermal technology proven at Chena Hot Springs.
Karl’s Chena Power is teaming with UTC Power, a division of United Technologies Corp., and Quantum Oil and Gas to match a $742,000 federal Department of Energy grant to generate electricity from hot water drawn up through wells at a Jay, Fla., oil field. On-the-ground work could start in early 2009.
If successful in modifying the geothermal technology to oilfield use, the team would have the first-ever power plant making electricity off an oil field, Karl said.
More than oil and gas flows through wells. Large volumes of water heated deep within the earth also surface, bearing significant energy that is typically wasted — in some situations, the water is not even returned to aquifers. The team plans to hook UTC’s power generation unit to hot water already being pumped from the wells. The water will generate electricity, then flow into a cooling tower before circulating back into the field, Karl explained.
He compares the process to “taking a little hug from the earth, and putting all the water back.” He said this work could help prove more general applications for geothermal technology, working toward his hope for an emissions-free world.
The potential implications of a commercially proven technique are broad, the partners say, with oil wells dotting the globe. Those wells typically turn up 97 percent hot water and three percent oil, leaving an earth-heated resource packed with energy untapped even as oil gushes to consumers, said UTC Power’s general manager of PureCycle Solutions, John Fox.
Electricity generated by this hot water would be “clean” power that could be fed into the grid or, in more remote areas, used in lieu of diesel to power the oil rigs themselves. That could present an opportunity for producers to offset emissions using green power, he suggested.
Each of the three grant recipients brings a little something to the team. Karl is a committed advocate of green energy and has experience with the Chena Hot Springs geothermal plant. UTC Power designed the PureCycle units in use at Chena and will craft modifications to the oil field units. Quantum is a potential customer for the oil field technology, and a backer with enough confidence to support the experiments.
The trials won’t be easy. Water is coming out of the Jay wells at 180 to 190 degrees, hotter than at Chena. Some sort of cooling will be necessary under the closed-loop PureCycle system, Fox said, and the naturally occurring 40 to 50 degree flow at Chena won’t be available in Florida. The team will also evaluate how unit materials hold up under oil slurry. In addition, water pumped from wells can bear high levels of hydrogen sulfide, a flammable, highly toxic, corrosive gas. The Florida work should identify which materials will best withstand that corrosion, Karl added.
Testing at Jay is expected to last two years, including time for unit modifications as needed, Karl said. He’s optimistic that the technology, once proven commercially, will be applied at wells in his home state. Similar technology is also being studied at the Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center in Wyoming.
“You will see it come to Alaska — just not now,” he suggested.
Chena Hot Springs became a leader in geothermal generation following the installation of UTC’s PureCycle system at the resort as a Department of Energy demo in 2006. The 400 kilowatt plant generates power from water less than 165 degrees — somewhat cooler than typical geothermal resources.
“There’s never been any technology available until Chena Hot Springs to do anything with that (oil field) power,” Karl said. “I believe it’s going to make the most significant contribution to power generation of anything in the 21st century.”
Community Discussion
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If this is a viable idea, why does it need 3/4 of a million dollars from government? Oh well, soon we'll all be on the dole.
What will Bernie do to get Federal money if Uncle Ted doesn't make it back into office. Why Florida, does it have anything to do with Don Young's Florida connection? Something to think about.
BK was also involved with the University, burning garbage, to create energy. The only scheme where that worked was at Eielson AFB with the "refuse derived fuel facility". Not with the plan Bernie and the University came up with.
You are questioning the viability of a project on the basis that it receives a grant from the feds??? You call yourself an Alaskan?!? If Bush's darling of corn-based ethanol is so viable, why give it a subsidy of $0.51 per gallon?
I support Mr Karl's endeavor. This is innovation, and once the R&D is complete you likely will see it more and more in AK. FYI, Alaskans have been on the dole since the congressional delegation began returning federal revenue at nearly twice what is paid out from this state. Contrast that to a place like Nevada (also heavily managed by the feds) receiving a paltry $0.65 per tax dollar.
Ha, yeah I agree with some of what you say. I just think the public's money is being mis-used. I'm conservitive, & have been voting against Don Young for 40 years.
The questions that need to be asked on all these plans, what is the population based that makes it economically feasible and produces affordable energy for the people in a community. What would the cost of the intra structure to bring it to the people of the North Star borough be. While these plans any be able to produce low cost energy one place, it does not mean that is the case in the Interior of Alaska.
More Power from HVAC and Heat-Pumps...
where the rubber meets the road in this field really isn't primarily getting more data from field studies, but we do need more research on ways to increase the efficiency of mass production of all of the equipment required to build a myriad of thermal-management systems.
The applications range from solar augmented heat-pumps across the board to geothermal and all types of industrial/commercial cogeneration.
There's many new designs&apps for HVAC/refrigeration/heat-pump components that need to be brought into increased production at the factories... this is a very good economic engine to revitalize in this lopsided economy dominated by black-hole weapons production & exports.
Residential ground-source heat-pumps work well in areas of permafrost like Farmers Loop... especially systems that don't use GoldenWatt-electricity to run the compressor... yes it's possible to power a refrig-compressor from a woodstove without wires.
A well designed evap-loop next to your permafrost foundation will keep your houseboat afloat on unstable permathaw.
What's the best material to use for piping all kinds of corrosive fluids and gasses between -100F and +200F ??---> HDPE-pipe.
90% of low-temp geothermal pipe used worldwide is HDPE.
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&am...
And who in the world has the biggest untapped/under-utilized supply of the raw materials to make HDPE?---> Alaska.
i worked for bernie for almost 2 yrs. he is an amazing man, a bit of a tyrant, but he gets things done.
Our country needs the creativity of more Bernie's. Not everything he does will work, but at least he is doing something. Criticism is always easier than creativity.
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