· Once operational, this will produce sufficient energy for 14,000 families
· Innovative use of existing technology, previously used for hydrocarbon-based plants
· Geothermal fluids are entirely reinjectable for zero atmospheric impact
Florence, Italy 6 June 2016 - GE Oil & Gas has announced that it will be supplying Graziella® Green Power (GGP) with technologies for next-generation power stations using geothermal energy from the Tuscan geothermal district. GGP is the leading Tuscan company in the construction and management of geothermal, photovoltaic, biomass and wind energy plants.
GE’s ORegenTM technology generates electricity using steam from below the ground (‘geothermal fluids’), without any dispersal or leakage into the environment. After use, the geothermal resource - the flow of steam - can be reinjected underground in its entirety, with zero atmospheric impact. This is a new application for this technology, which has previously been used for waste heat recovery in hydrocarbon-based plants.
GE Oil & Gas will supply a complete ORegenTM system combined with a reciprocating compressor for reinjecting the gases alongside digital solutions, built on GE’s Predix technology. This will allow for the system to be monitored constantly from a monitoring and diagnostics centre at the site in Florence, together with Houston and Kuala Lumpur centres. These iCenters control rotating machinery installed all over the world and utilize the 16 million + hours of monitoring and diagnostics data available to GE technicians to advise customers.
In contrast with existing technologies, the plant built by Graziella Green Power will allow system optimization, minimizing the visual impact of the site and producing an annual energy output of 40,000 MWh renewable, clean energy, equivalent to the consumption of 14,000 families. The plant should enter the operational phase in 2018.
“GE Oil & Gas has always been in leader in the development of innovative technological solutions, thinking outside the box to drive progress in the energy industry” said Paolo Ruggeri, European Manager for the GE Oil & Gas Turbomachinery Solutions business. “This exciting partnership with Graziella Green Power allows us to apply a technology initially developed for oil and gas in a completely new way in the geothermal sector, which has great potential for the future.”
“We are committed to building plants that employ renewable energy sources and guarantee the utmost respect for the environment,” commented Iacopo Magrini, CEO of GGP. “This agreement with GE Oil & Gas helps us to do just this by giving us access to the leading expertise in the energy sector to ensure we get the results we need.”
The Graziella Green Power geothermal plant where the ORegenTM system will be installed is part of one of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development’s experimental projects to validate structures that completely reinject geothermal fluids capable of guaranteeing total environmental sustainability* and represents the first program of investments in the geothermal sector with complete reinjection. Through its subsidiaries, GGP holds numerous licences for research into geothermal resources in advanced stages of development.
The adoption of innovative technologies for creating next-generation geothermal plants is in line with the effort promoted by the Italian Government to favour energy generation from renewable sources (geothermal energy is listed among the strategic energy sources**) and the reduction of CO2 emissions nationally.
Legal references:
* Italian Legislative Decree 22/2010 as amended by Legislative Decree 28/2011 and law no. 98 of 9 August 2013.
** Italian law 7 August 2012, no. 134.
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Graziella Green Power S.p.A is the company through which Graziella Holding S.r.l. operates in the field of energy generation from renewable sources. It is currently one of the biggest photovoltaic electricity producers in Italy. Graziella Green Power is also working to develop plants in the geothermal, bioenergy and wind sectors, with the aim of consolidating its leadership in renewable energy generation in the years to come.
For more information:
Kate Gomes | |
Chiara Toniato GE Oil & Gas +39 055 458 6127 +39 346 3823419 |