Jun 11 2008
The National Energy Resources Organization (NERO) last night presented its 2008 annual Innovation Award to UTC Power for its PureCycle(R) system, an advance in geothermal energy production that taps significant, previously unusable geothermal reserves for domestic, renewable, and continuously available power. UTC Power is a United Technologies Corp. company.
The NERO Innovation Award recognizes significant technology innovations that provide for cleaner and more affordable production, distribution or use of energy.
Accepting the award for UTC Power at the 2008 dinner in Washington D.C., Ken Fox, Vice President Onsite Power Solutions said, "We are delighted that NERO has chosen to honor the PureCycle(R) system. This innovative low-temperature technology will tap previously uneconomical geothermal energy resources around the globe for a cleaner, more secure energy future. It utilizes heat from the earth and is the most dependable form of free fuel and the most constant source of renewable energy available today."
The PureCycle(R) geothermal system results from more than six years of research and development work involving UTC Power, United Technologies Research Center and the U.S. Department of Energy. The organic Rankine cycle-based power system is an advanced binary cycle system, driven by a simple evaporation process. It is entirely enclosed, and produces no emissions. The PureCycle(R) system's only byproduct is electricity, and its "fuel" -- geothermal hot water -- is a renewable resource.
PureCycle(R) geothermal systems have been in operation since 2006 at Chena Hot Springs Resort in Alaska, as a U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies demonstration project. Chena Hot Springs Resort is the first geothermal project in Alaska and the lowest temperature geothermal resource (165° F) in the world ever used for commercial power generation. Raser Technologies has ordered 200 PureCycle(R) systems that will have the capability to generate approximately 40 to 45 megawatts (MW) of renewable electrical power.
The PureCycle(R) system and the Chena project have attracted world-wide attention and have been honored with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy 2006 National Green Power Award for on-site generation; Power Engineering magazine named it the 2006 Renewable/Sustainable Energy Project of the Year; and the PureCycle(R) system was recognized by R&D Magazine as one of the 100 most technologically significant products introduced during 2007.
UTC Power is the world leader in developing and producing fuel cells for on-site power, transportation, space and defense applications, as well as a leader in innovative, renewable energy solutions and combined cooling, heating and power solutions for the distributed energy market.