The project will produce adequate electricity to power more than 10,000 homes
The project will capture waste heat from a gas-fired turbine. (Credit: Siemens Energy.)
Siemens Energy has agreed with Canada-based TC Energy to commission a novel waste heat-to-power pilot installation in Alberta, Canada.
The facility will be designed to capture waste heat from a gas-fired turbine operating at a pipeline compression station and convert it into emissions-free power.
The generated electricity will be re-directed into the grid, to reduce around 44,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas per annum, equivalent to taking more than 9,000 vehicles off the road.
Siemens Energy industrial applications products senior vice president Arja Talakar “This pilot project is a testament not only to our extensive capabilities but also to Siemens Energy’s broader commitment to bring new technologies to market that can support decarbonization in the oil and gas industry.
“We are proud to partner with TC Energy to build this first-of-its-kind facility and look forward to scaling the technology to other installations in the coming years.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Siemens Energy will build, own, and operate the facility, and holds the option to transfer the ownership back to TC Energy later.
The facility will be equipped with an advanced heat recovery process designed by Siemens Energy. The technology is licenced under Echogen Intellectual Property.
The technology is developed based on an advanced Rankine Cycle and leverage supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) as the working fluid to convert waste heat into power.
According to the company, sCO2 is capable of interacting more directly with the heat source compared to water or steam, and eliminates the need for a secondary thermal loop, as in traditional systems.
Other compressor station sites are also being assessed by TC Energy to deploy the technology, with the potential to generate 300MW of emissions-free power.
Emissions Reduction Alberta’s (ERA) Industrial Efficiency Challenge has offered the financial support of $8m for the pilot project.
The new facility is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2022.
TC Energy senior vice-president, and power and storage president Corey Hessen said: “The agreement with Siemens Energy on this initiative exemplifies TC Energy’s long history of embracing innovation and leading-edge technology in its operations.
“We are committed to integrating sustainable energy solutions that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across our footprint and look forward to having this operational at one of our compressor stations.”