LOVELOCK - ElectraTherm, the Department of Energy and Florida Canyon Mine held a commissioning ceremony for the Green Machine, which generates electricity from low-temperature waste heat, recently at the mine site.
Representatives from all entities were in attendance to explain the process and why it is an efficient way to harness energy from geothermal water.
Joel Murphy, Florida Canyon's general manager, said that the mine has been in continuous operation for nearly 27 years and has always wanted to do something with the geothermal water on the mine's property.
"We have always had geothermal water and always wanted to do something with it," he said. "We like to think of ourselves as being a partner with the environment here in Nevada."
Through a partnership with the ElectraTherm company, the mine can now make use of the 230-degree water on the property to generate electricity on site.
According to ElectraTherm Vice President of Sales Bob Emrich, in the past the mine had to dump the hot water into ponds for cooling in order for it to be usable for mine processes. The alternative was to purchase high-priced equipment that is designed to handle high-temperature water.
Use of the Green Machine not only creates fuel-free, emission-free energy, but also expedites the cooling process for the geothermal water that is used in the mine's processes.
The project was first brought to Murphy by Emrich, who previously worked for the mine's pump supplier and knew that the site's wells were geothermal. After meeting and discussing the idea, it was determined that the project would be beneficial to both groups (Florida Canyon and ElectraTherm).
Murphy said that the monetary benefit to the mine was not huge, but that the benefit is in the recovery of power from the waste heat in its geothermal water.
"Currently, the machine provides about 1 percent to 2 percent of our power usage," he said. "This seems small until you understand we used 1,543,200 KWH last month."
Murphy said that, in the future, the mine could potentially run three to four of the machines and provide even more power to the site.
According to an ElectraTherm press release, last week's commissioning marks the second geothermal project utilizing low-temperature geothermal brine to generate electricity (and the first in the United States).
The process begins with hot water entering the Green Machine to boil a working fluid into a vapor. This vapor then expands through a twin screw power block and spins an electric generator. Then, the vapor is turned back into a liquid in the attached external condenser. This liquid is then used to repeat the process.
Murphy said that another key player in the implementation of the Green Machine has been NV Energy, which "provided the guidance and support in setting up the power feedback system to feed power back onto their grid."
With the help of NV Energy, a grant from the Department of Energy, and the collaboration of Florida Canyon Mine and ElectraTherm, the completion of the year and a half long project was marked recently and the machine is now officially online and utilizing a previously untapped resources on the mine's site.
Although the Green Machine is the first of its kind in the country, there is the potential for more widespread use of the technology.
Emrich said that while not every mine happens to be located on a site where geothermal water is available, most mines do generate waste heat that could be harnessed by the Green Machine to create electricity.
A representative from the Department of Energy said that the Green Machine may even be used in residential applications in the future.
[[In-content Ad]]
