Work to start on pilot project for ECO2G geothermal well co-production retrofit technology

CO2 geothermal technology overview (source: Greenfire Energy)

Alexander Richter 27 Sep 2017

GreenFire Energy announces a propriety geothermal “co-production retrofit’ technology that can generate 2 to 4 MW from existing wells that are nonproductive or underproductive.

ECO2G (TM) Co-production Retrofits use a dual-fluid, closed-loop system that circulates a refrigerant while absorbing heat from co-produced steam and brine. No additional drilling is required because the ECO2G system fits within the existing well casing. Each ECO2G well retrofit system is highly tailored to select and optimize the working fluid flow for the heat, diameters, depths, and brine. Power is generated by a matched turbo-expander/ generator installed at the top of each retrofit well.

Now the company announced having selected Veizades & Associates to serve as the Project Management team for the world’s first field demonstration of closed-loop geothermal power generation. Veizades and Associates, Inc. is a professional geothermal consulting and engineering firm located in San Francisco, California.

Funded in part by a grant by the California Energy Commission, this project will be conducted in collaboration with the Coso Operating Company near Ridgecrest California. The purpose of the project is to demonstrate the ability of GreenFire’s proprietary ECO2G™ technology to allow an unused marginal well to supplement generation. The project is slated to start initial engineering in September 2017 and be completed by October 2018.

“We conducted a very thorough search for a company with an experienced team representing multiple disciplines to manage this pioneering project” said Joseph Scherer, President and CEO of GreenFire Energy. “Nobody has ever attempted a project like this before, so it was essential to find a partner that can deal with the inevitable challenges and surprises of this innovative and ambitious project. Dr. Dan Hoyer, who will lead the Veizades team, has our full confidence and support to make this advanced technology succeed.”

Dan Hoyer added “We are pleased to have been selected for this landmark project. It will require creativity of the team to overcome the engineering and deployment challenges posed by retrofitting an existing well with this proprietary technology. We are committed to finding solutions that will make this a replicable process.”

Chris Ellis, General Manager of Coso Operating Company, added “GreenFire’s technology presents a unique and viable approach toward producing energy from underground heat sources like we have at the Coso project, so we are an enthusiastic sponsor of this project.”

Background information on the ECO2G technology by GreenFire

Wells that can benefit from a GreenFire Co-production Retrofit include existing idle or marginal wells that have:

? Insufficient brine flow for successful commercial operation
? Insufficient wellhead pressure for successful commercial operation
? High levels of non-condensable gases, scale or other undesirable emissions

GreenFire Energy offers a simple, low-risk solution to harvest the earth’s “thermal battery” – by far the largest available source of continuous renewable energy. GreenFire Energy’s proprietary technology, ECO2GTM, accesses the extremely large but untapped, geothermal resources that lack the water and permeability to permit conventional geothermal power generation.

Key Benefits:

• Accesses heat unavailable with conventional technology
• Delivers scalable electric power
• Provides continuous yet flexible power
• Environmentally superior

For further information about GreenFire retrofit technology or to request a field assessment please contact John R. Muir, Sr VP of Business Development at 1-888-320-2721 or send an email to john.muir@greenfireenergy.com.

Source: Company release by email