09/10/2008 12:01 PM

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Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: September 10, 2008

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Since 1985, the NSF's ERC program has fostered broad-based research and education collaborations in close partnership with industry. The new NSF ERC for FREEDM Systems will be based at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, in partnership with four other U.S. universities and with contributions from universities in Germany and Switzerland. The ERC will work with more than 65 industry partners, including many small start-up firms, as well as 18 state and local government organizations in Arizona, California, Florida, New York, North Carolina, and Tennessee. See the press releases from NSF and North Carolina State University, as well as the new FREEDM Systems Center Web site.

If there was any question that power grids are an essential part of renewable energy development, it was settled in late August, when two wind power developers snatched up 585 MW of transmission capacity on the planned 850 MW Wyoming-Colorado Intertie Project.

GreenHunter Wind Company, LLC and Duke Energy Ohio, Inc. plan to develop wind projects near Chugwater, Wyoming, delivering the power to consumers in Colorado. According to the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority (WIA), the two companies had the only winning bids on the proposed transmission line. Renewable energy developers have also had long waits to gain access to existing transmission lines, particularly in California and the Midwest. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued guidance for possible interconnection queue reforms in March, and in July and August, it allowed reforms to the process for the California and Midwest grid operators, which are called "independent system operators" or ISOs. See the WIA press release (PDF 113 KB), the FERC Generator Interconnection Web page, and the press releases from the California ISO (PDF 81 KB) and Midwest ISO (PDF 48 KB).

Construction Underway on First Geothermal Power Plant in New Mexico

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Raser Technologies, Inc. announced in late August that construction has begun on the first commercial geothermal power plant in New Mexico. Located near Animas in the southwest corner of the state, the 10 MW Lightning Dock geothermal power plant will produce power using modular "PureCycle" power units from UTC Power, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation.

First deployed at Chena Hot Springs Resort near Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2006, the PureCycle units use relatively low-temperature geothermal resources to vaporize an organic fluid, using that vapor to spin a small generator to produce power. According to Raser, 45 PureCycle units will be combined to form the 10 MW plant. The modular, prefabricated system will allow Raser to build the power plant in only 6 months and easily accommodates Raser's plans to eventually expand the plant to 20-25 MW. See the press releases from the governor (PDF 79 KB) and Raser, the technology descriptions from Raser and UTC Power, and the article from this newsletter on the Chena Hot Springs project.

The PureCycle system's ability to produce power from low-temperature resources (as low as 195°F, according to UTC Power) also simplified project development for Raser, as the company is drawing on a geothermal well that was drilled 20 years ago, but was abandoned because the resource was not hot enough for the technology available at that time.

Armed with the UTC Power technology, Raser is charging ahead with eight geothermal power projects, including three projects in Nevada, three in Utah, one in Oregon, and the New Mexico project. The company has made the most progress at its 10-MW Thermo geothermal power plant near Beaver, Utah, where it began placing PureCycle units in August. Last week, the company announced that it had set its first 50 PureCycle units in place. Raser ordered 90 PureCycle units from UTC Power last year, and in April it ordered another 110 units, which will give the company the ability to build 40-45 MW of geothermal power capacity at its various project locations. See Raser's project list and its press releases on the Thermo geothermal power plant and its PureCycle unit purchases.

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