Ormat completes construction at Veyo heat recovery project in Southern Utah

Ormat Technologies announced that construction was completed at the Veyo Heat Recovery Project in southern Utah.

This project falls under a $22.3 million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS), and it features an air-cooled Recovered Energy Generation (REG) unit at UAMPS’ Kern River Gas Transmission (Kern River) Veyo natural gas compressor station.

The EPC contract was signed November 5, 2014 where an Ormat Energy Converter (OEC) is employed to generate power from heat that otherwise would have been released into the atmosphere. The Veyo REG project was brought online May 26, 2016, a full four months ahead of schedule.

“This is the second REG project that we have successfully completed at a compressor station along the Kern River pipeline and the first REG project in Utah. We are thrilled to have reached this final milestone four months before the projected finish date with power output higher than spec, improving UAMPS’ project profitability and returns,” said Isaac Angel, chief executive officer of Ormat. “REG is a baseload, reliable, affordable and emission-free asset that integrates smoothly with the host heat source and is very simple to own and operate. We applaud UAMPS for adding this clean resource to their portfolio from a heat source that would otherwise have gone to waste.”

For decades, Ormat has offered its state-of-the-art REG power solution to fully exploit the energy potential found in a variety of industrial processes, including gas compressor stations, gas processing plants, paper mills, oil and gas refineries, cement factories, incinerators, chemical plants, glass manufacturers and others.

In 2009, Utah became one of the first states to recognize waste heat to power as a renewable energy technology and has taken steps to incentivize its development. Since then, Utah has continued to see a wave of new projects across the renewable spectrum, including geothermal and recovered energy generation. This project follows the success of three geothermal power plants Ormat has previously built in Utah.

“Our confidence in the Veyo Heat Recovery Project has only been echoed throughout Utah,” said Doug Hunter, general manager of UAMPS. “Ormat has delivered above and beyond our expectations. We are eager to provide this great power source to the various independent utilities participating in the project.”

UAMPS will hold a commissioning ceremony for the Veyo Heat Recovery Project onsite on June 28, 2016 starting at 10:30 a.m.

Ormat is the main solution provider for waste heat to power systems on gas pipeline compressor stations. REG units convert waste heat from the exhaust of gas turbine-driven compressors into electricity for on-site consumption and/or for sale to local utilities. Ormat’s REG solutions for gas compressor stations are based on the OEC, a power generation unit that converts a wide range of temperature heat into electrical energy. OECs are custom designed to optimally leverage the specific conditions of a wide variety of heat sources. They are suitable for outdoor installation and remote operation in hot and cold weather conditions.

The OEC offers unmanned, automatic operation that is remotely monitored. There is no water usage, no fuel consumption, low maintenance and simple operation. Customers benefit from quick, easy on-site implementation, a small installed footprint and no interference with host site operation.