Douglas Berkley
Noise Solutions, Technical Sales & Solutions
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CEGEN Green Energy System is creating clean, affordable power for natural gas compression stations using nothing more than airflow from a cooling fan.
Sometimes an idea come along and makes you think “why didn’t I think of that?” So simple in its workings that you are sure it has been done before, but turns out it hasn’t. I’m lucky enough to be working with a group of people that have one of these ideas, one that has now been pilot tested with a full-size unit and is now proven for market, and it is exciting to say the least! This full-size, first unit off the assembly line at a site near Calgary.
CEGEN Green Energy Unit Mounting To A 156″ Cooling Fan For Testing
Many folks these days believe that renewable, green energy and fossil fuels are and always will be at odds with each other. In reality, they have been working together for years, and those lines are blurring even more. What if we could combine natural gas development with electric power production and reduce or eliminate, further consumption of fossil fuels? The CEGEN Green Energy System is that step forward in bringing these forms of energy together to deliver clean and affordable power to compression sites, communities and more.
The CEGEN Green Energy System has patented a design to capture and use the wasted, constant airflows of large cooling fans on compression station sites. This design will be applied to all sorts of industry, starting in the natural gas, oil and power generation industries, then mining and eventually fans of all sizes and applications.
Natural Gas compression stations made sense as the place to start…there was estimated to be approximately 31,000 natural gas transmission compressors in service in the United States alone as of 2011. And with the rise of hydraulic fracturing and the addition of new field like the Marcellus and Utica, these station numbers are only rising.
By placing single or multiple CEGEN units on the cooling fan structures, companies will be able to replace the need to run expensive power transmission lines to remote locations, supplement the power needs of their facilities without burning the facility’s own product or add to their carbon footprint as well. For large facilities with multiple coolers, enough power can be produced to supply back to the grid or even create an isolated grid that supplies to surrounding smaller facilities they may own. Carbon tax credits are even possible.
The CEGEN Green Energy unit is a box that simply bolts on to the exhaust portion of the cooling fan unit, time of install is minimal with no additional foundations, etc. needed! We’ve used our experience in the noise mitigation world to be sure backpressures and performances of the fans will not be adversely affected. In fact, recent full-size testing shows almost no backpressure exists.
The CEGEN box contains a savonius-style turbine that will spin (self-starts quickly) via the constant exhaust airflow and that will produce the power for use on site. It’s as simple as that in the end. No additional foundations needed, no real additional space used and so on. And the units are designed to produce a minimum of 15,000 kW/hrs per annum, which is enough to power a single Caterpillar 3516 compressor engine. Multiple units can be installed at a single compression facility, and the use of the generated power is endless. Power site equipment, lower or do away with electrical bills, the uses are limitless.
Our energy industry is always in need of a good story to share it seems. What if we were able to share a green energy story like this? How valuable would that be? Early adopters/testers we have been working with think that story will be a great one to tell. And undoubtedly, at some point in the meeting, someone will ask the question “why didn’t I think of that?” CEGEN is here and ready for market, you don’t have to think of it anymore.
My employer, Noise Solutions, is a manufacturing and distributor and partner of CEGEN. The time to move is now…be an early adopter. First in line at start get preference in delivery of units! For more information, visit www.cegengreen.com and drop me a message. And, here’s another picture!
