New project to tap 90 degrees Celsius/ 190 F hotspring for power generation
Surprise Valley, California (source: flickr/ BLM California, public domain)
Alexander Richter
5 Jan 2017
The Surprise Valley Hotspring Resort is to see the construction of a small power plant to utilise water at a temperature of 90 centigrades (190 F) for electricity generation.
New York City headquartered company Cornerstone Sustainable Energy (“CSE”) announced having “been contracted by the Modoc County Board of Supervisors to supply its PwrCor [TM] engine as part of a demonstration project that will convert ultra-low-grade heat into electricity. The heat will be obtained from a geothermal well or hotspring.
Modoc County, located in northeastern California, is commencing a project to generate constant electrical power from the geothermal water using our new, entirely “green” engine technology. The project is starting immediately and is sited at the Surprise Valley Hot Springs resort.
Once the installation is completed, the resort should no longer have to rely solely on or pay for utility power, and will have free, clean, “green” electrical power furnished by the PwrCor [TM] engine.
“This is an unusual and very positive initiative which shows how public-private partnerships such as this project can help move us to a greener energy future. We will demonstrate clean, non-polluting and economical energy production from a local geothermal resource,” stated Chester Robertson, Chief Administrative Officer of Modoc County.
CSE will be paid directly by Modoc County from funding that was arranged via a grant from the California Energy Commission, with CSE responsible for certain project expenses. The mission of the California Energy Commission includes supporting the use of alternative energy sources, which the PwrCor [TM] technology will accomplish.
CSE will recognize revenues as project phases are completed. The revenues from the completed project should amount to over $120,000, the equivalent of over 10% of previous years’ revenues. For more details, see the Company’s Form 8-K filed on January 3, 2017.
The PwrCor [TM] engine cost effectively converts ultra-low-grade heat to usable mechanical or electrical energy. PwrCor [TM] is a cleantech energy technology that uses no fossil fuels, does not operate via combustion, has no emissions, and does not process any working fluids that are flammable, harmful to the environment, or costly to replace. Moreover, it is scalable, modular, and runs relatively silently, all within a small footprint. This will be its first application in using geothermal resources.
CSE’s PwrCor [TM] technology efficiently utilizes supply heat of temperatures below 200 degrees F (93 degrees Celsius). The hot spring water in California’s Surprise Valley comes to the surface at temperatures of approximately 190 degrees F (88 degrees Celsius), which is considered ultra-low-grade heat. Using just a small fraction of the water flow from the geothermal resource, the PwrCor [TM] engine is expected to be able to supply 100% of the power used by the resort.
The project will be managed by Warner Mountain Energy Corporation. Warner Mountain Energy specified the PwrCor [TM] engine, which will be produced and commissioned by CSE. Dr. Roy Mink, Chief Executive of Warner Mountain and former manager of the US Department of Energy geothermal program, explained, “The demonstration project will illustrate how low temperature geothermal heat resources, heretofore not considered economically feasible for power generation for the geothermal industry, can be tapped using this breakthrough technology.”
Tom Telegades, CEO of the Company, stated, “We are proud of our executive leadership team which has worked hard to apply this technology to our first geothermal application. This demonstration project, we believe, may very well prove disruptive to the geothermal industry as the cost effective conversion of ultra-low heat from a geothermal resource can now be realized.”
About the Technology: PwrCor [TM] engines can cost effectively convert ultra-low-grade heat to usable mechanical or electrical energy, opening up an immense market that competing technologies cannot exploit with a cost effective solution. PwrCor [TM] is a cleantech ‘GREEN’ technology that uses no fossil fuels, does not operate via combustion, has no emissions, and does not process any working fluids that are flammable, harmful to the environment, or costly to replace. PwrCor [TM] is scalable and modular and has a relatively small footprint.
Source: Company release via Marketwatch
