ThinkGeoEnergy – Geothermal Energy News

Small-scale ORC units of MEET geothermal project arrived on demo sites

The first three ORC modules of the MEET project have been installed on the geothermal sites in Vermillion/ France, Soultz-sous-Forets/ France and at Grásteinn Farm in Iceland.

Two years ago, the European MEET (multi-sites EGS Demonstration) project started and recently provided a great update on its activities in a newsletter. We will publish some of the news over the coming days.

One of the aims of the MEET project is to demonstrate the feasibility to convert heat into electricity from various low flow and/or low temperature (70 – 120 degrees C) geothermal sources using a small scale ORC device. An ORC or Organic Rankine Cycle is a module able to convert heat to electricity, based on thermodynamic cycle with a High molecular fluid. To do so, 6 demonstration sites were selected on 3 different geological contexts, i.e. sedimentary, granitic and volcanic.

Enogia has customized its ORC machines so that they can perform under the various and drastic geological conditions encountered on each site. Together with the Iceland Innovation Center, ES-Geothermie and Vermillion, Enogia has been able to innovate and propose ORCs compatible with the particularly corrosive conditions often found in geothermal wells.

After the design, the manufacturing and few months of delay accumulated in part because of covid-19, the three machines reached their first demonstration sites. Since its commissioning on 12th of June, the first ORC module installed in Chaunoy (France) on the Vermillion site has already produced 11 MWh. It is approximately the annual energy consumption of 50 m² apartment occupied by 2 people. The Icelandic module was received at Grásteinn Farm (Iceland) in July 2020. The third module arrived at Soultz-sous-Forets (France) on ES-Geothermie geothermal power plant at the end of August. The 3 firsts demonstration sites will be commissioned in October.

he ORC module delivered to the first demonstration site at Grásteinn Farm in Iceland. On picture there are the site Owner and ICI team members (source: MEET)

Source: MEET Horizon 2020 

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