Siemens Energy announced last week it signed an agreement with TC Energy Corporation to commission a first-of-its-kind waste heat-to-power pilot installation in Alberta. Therefore, the facility will capture waste heat from a gas-fired turbine. In fact, this turbine operates at a pipeline compression station and converts it into clean power.
Indeed, the electricity produced at the facility will be put back into the grid. Therefore, this will reduce 44,000 tons of GHG per year, equivalent to taking more than 9,000 vehicles off the road.
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Siemens Energy on its new waste heat-to-power pilot installation
Later last week, Siemens Energy announced it signed an agreement with TC Energy Corporation. This deal is for the commission of a new waste heat-to-power pilot installation in Alberta.
The electricity produced at the facility will be put back into the grid. Therefore, this will reduce 44,000 tons of GHG per year, equivalent to taking more than 9,000 vehicles off the road.
As part of the agreement, Siemens Energy will build, own, and operate the facility; with the option for ownership to be transferred back to TC Energy later. Furthermore, the facility will be an innovative heat recovery process designed by Siemens Energy.
The patented technology uses supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) as the working fluid to convert waste heat into power. Furthermore, because of its properties, sCO2 can interact more directly with the heat source than water/steam; hence, it eliminates the need for a secondary thermal loop.
According to the company, by deploying sCO2-based waste heat recovery solutions, midstream; operators can realize more significant value than traditional alternatives. For instance, benefits include a 25 – 40 percent smaller footprint than steam-based systems; a 10 percent increase in compressor station efficiency, and the capability to produce clean, emissions-free electricity.
“This pilot project is a testament not only to our extensive capabilities; also to Siemens Energy’s broader commitment to bring new technologies to market. These can support decarbonization in the oil and gas industry;” said Arja Talakar, Senior Vice President, Industrial Applications Products for Siemens Energy.
Partnership with TC Energy
Therefore, “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.”
The pilot project counts with $8 million in funding from Emissions Reduction Alberta’s (ERA) Industrial Efficiency Challenge. Indeed, for more than ten years, ERA has invested revenues from the carbon price; this is to accelerate the development and adoption of innovative clean technology solutions.
Therefore, the new facility will be the commission of the company toward the end of 2022; and generate enough electricity to power more than 10,000 homes.
“The agreement with Siemens Energy on this initiative exemplifies TC Energy’s long history of embracing innovation and leading-edge technology in its operations;” says Corey Hessen, Senior Vice-President and President, Power & Storage, TC Energy.
Moreover, “we are committed to integrating sustainable energy solutions that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across our footprint. Besides, we look forward to having this operational at one of our compressor stations.”
Finally, the company concluded it is currently evaluating other compressor station sites to deploy the technology. In brief, this has the potential to generate 300 megawatts of emissions-free power.
