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Geothermal Industry gathers at GEA Summit in Reno, Nevada

Geothermal Industry gathers at GEA Summit in Reno, Nevada National Geothermal Summit 2011, Sacramento (source: GEA)
Alexander Richter 5 Aug 2014

The Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) will recognize the winners of their 2014 GEA Honors at a reception today in Reno, Nevada.

The Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) will recognize the winners of their 2014 GEA Honors at a reception tonight from 5:00pm-6:30pm at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno. GEA Honors recognizes companies, projects, and individuals who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the geothermal industry.

The winners were selected in categories including Technological Advancement, Economic Development and Environmental Stewardship. Now in its fourth year, GEA also provides special recognition of companies and individuals who have made notable advances and achievements for geothermal energy. GEA will present the Honors at an awards reception as part of the National Geothermal Summit.

The Environmental Stewardship award recognizes an organization that is fostering outstanding environmental stewardship through the use of geothermal systems, and will be presented to The Salton Sea Restoration & Renewable Energy Initiative. This initiative was designed to help address the Salton Sea crisis by siting renewable energy projects on the exposed lakebed which would environmental impacts, fund wildlife habitat and air quality management projects, and spur local economic development and job creation. “It is our hope that a restored Salton Sea and the protection of our environment will be the legacy we leave behind. IID is grateful for the support of the Geothermal Energy Association and its members in helping us convey to important decision makers that sometimes the solutions we are seeking can be underneath our feet,” said Carl D. Stills, energy manager, Imperial Irrigation District.

The Technological Advancement honor is awarded for developing a new, innovative or pioneering technology to further geothermal development. The honorees include Baker Hughes, POWER Engineers and Ormat Technologies, Inc.

Baker Hughes created a prototype directional drilling system capable of operating at 300°C in Enhanced Geothermal Systems wells which provides the ability to actively steer a high-temperature production well into the optimum position to realize an efficient heat transfer mechanism, maximizing potential geothermal energy generation. Not only is this tool used for EGS, but it is likely to be equally useful in conventional hydrothermal high-temperature situations. “Recognition by the GEA helps both bring awareness within our large company for the accomplishments of our project team, and brings industry awareness and will hopefully lead to industry adoption of the technology,” said Aaron Dick, Research Director, Baker Hughes. “The work we are being honored for would not have taken place in this time frame without the support of the US Department of Energy.”

The Kizildere II Geothermal Power Plant in Turkey, designed by POWER Engineers, uses an advanced triple-flash cycle to overcome the limitations that accompany typical flash or binary cycles. This new hybrid triple-flash/binary plant design, incorporating provisions for district heating and with features patented by POWER Engineers, uses a novel approach to deal with the high-CO2 geofluids found in this reservoir in Turkey, and should be applicable to a number of other prospects around the world that present similar challenges. “We are honored and pleased that GEA recognized the plant sets a new standard for innovative and ambitious heat recovery from a renewable energy resource,” said Kevin Wallace, P.E., Geothermal Projects Director at POWER Engineers. “The thing that makes our industry so unique in the power generation business is that each plant has different ‘fuel supply’ conditions. The unique combined cycle approach for this case really gets the most out of each contributing technology. And it’s the only type of configuration of its kind in the world.”

Ormat’s Don A. Campbell Geothermal Project uses a new, innovative, low temperature ORC cycle utilizing a butane working fluid that is capable of producing affordable, utility scale power using a resource with a reservoir temperature as low as 260 degrees Fahrenheit. “We are honored to receive this GEA award,” said Isaac Angel, Ormat’s Chief Executive Officer. “This technology unlocks the potential for developing other low temperature geothermal resources all over the world, to generate clean, reliable and flexible renewable energy.”

The Economic Development honor is being awarded to Dewhurst Group/Grupo Dewhurst for making a substantial contribution to the development of local, regional or national markets through the development of geothermal systems. Dewhurst Group has been directly participating in the development of the first Geothermal Power Plant in Colombia, which has resulted in an economic boon in the Manizales and Nereidas valley regions with full time and part time employment of graduating geology students and locals in their South American subsidiary, Grupo Dewhurst. “It is a great honor to be recognized for our hard work in helping develop geothermal projects both here in the US and abroad. Our success can be attributed, in no small part, to our focus on engaging with local communities to create socially and environmentally sustainable projects,” said Warren Dewhurst, CEO, Dewhurst Group/Grupo Dewhurst.

The Special Recognition Award is presented to the following companies and individuals for their outstanding achievement in the geothermal industry: Mono County Board of Supervisors; AltaRock Energy Inc.; The National Geothermal Data System (NGDS); Bill Price- Enel Green Power North America; Dita Bronicki- Ormat; James C. Hanks, President, Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors; Greg Mines, Idaho National Laboratory; Hillary Hanson and Rachel Wood, Idaho National Laboratory.