Calgary, Alberta -- November 1, 2011 -- NRGreen Power and GE today announced plans for a new recovered energy project that will produce power without additional emissions using the first global application of GE's innovative ORegen system. The technology will be installed at Alliance Pipeline's Windfall Compressor Station near Whitecourt, Alberta, to generate electricity through the use of waste heat. The ORegenTM system is the latest in Organic Rankin Cycle technology and its introduction at the Global Clean Energy Congress in Calgary, AB, marks its official debut in the market.
"This technology recovers heat energy that would otherwise be lost to the atmosphere and transforms it into electric energy, without producing any new emissions. It makes for a very clean form of electricity generation," said Murray Birch, President and CEO of NRGreen, an affiliate of Alliance Pipeline. "When constructed, the Whitecourt facility will reliably generate and deliver up to 14 megawatts of electricity per hour -- enough power for 14,000 Canadian homes. Partnering with GE has provided us with one of the most efficient waste heat recovery units we've seen to date."
NRGreen Power Limited Partnership ("NRGreen") works to develop clean energy by converting waste heat generated at compressor stations along the Alliance Pipeline system to produce emission free electric power. The company currently has four waste heat recovery units operational at Kerrobert, Loreburn, Estlin, and Alameda, Saskatchewan. While its Whitecourt Recovered Energy Project ("WREP") marks the company's fifth waste heat recovery installation, it is the first to employ GE's ORegen system. Construction of the WREP will commence in May 2012. NRGreen is jointly owned by Veresen Inc. (50%) and Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc. (50%).
"This is a significant milestone for GE, as it is not only the first NRGreen project to utilize ORegenTM, but also the first ever commercial application for GE," said Paolo Ruggeri, Head of Solutions at GE Oil & Gas. "The ORegenTM is part of a growing family of products that have been qualified under GE ecomagination and will help reduce the emissions footprint of power generation facilities such as these. The system is a best in class waste heat recovery technology and this project demonstrates that it is ready to be applied across the globe."
The ORegenTM system recovers waste heat from gas turbine exhaust and converts it into electric energy. The benefits of deploying the systems are substantial, improving overall plant efficiency by up to 50 percent or more and producing electric power with no additional fuel by recovering heat from all types of gas turbine exhaust (or any other low to medium grade waste heat source). The system is ideal for remote locations because, unlike many cogeneration technologies, it does not require water utilization or the use of on-site manned operational supervision.
The project will be funded in part by Alberta's Climate Change and Emissions Management (CCEMC) Corporation. The CCEMC is an Alberta based not-for-profit, independent, corporation with a mandate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change by supporting the discovery, development and deployment of clean technologies. NRGreen's project with ORegenTM technology meets this mandate. Supplementing NRGreen's substantial investment, the CCEMC will contribute $7 million to the Whitecourt Recovered Energy Project. The Climate Change and Emissions Management Fund is financed by payments from companies complying with the Alberta Government's annual greenhouse gas emissions requirements.
A recorded broadcast of the announcement at the Global Clean Energy Congress can be found at http://jetslides.tv/lobby/555.
For more information or to schedule an interview, contact:
Alan Roth
Manager, Corporate Communications
Alliance Pipeline
Ph. (403) 517-7742
Email: [email protected]
Fabio Pianini
Media Relations Manager
GE Oil & Gas
Ph: +39 055 423 8872
Email: [email protected]
Kim Warburton
GE Global Growth Organization
[email protected]
+1 905 8585678
+ 1416 5618316