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Highline Electric launches renewable energy project
Representatives from Highline Electric Association, Tri-State, Ormat Technologies and Kinder Morgan Pipeline were in Peetz, Colo., June 24 to dedicate Highline’s first renewable energy project that captures heat generated from gas turbines to produce electricity. Now operational, the Trailblazer heat recovered energy generation project will produce four megawatts of electricity at peak.
Highline expects to save about $10 million in power costs over the 20-year |
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life of the contract. The waste-heat generator will produce 27,600 megawatt-hours of energy annually. The facility, owned and operated by Ormat, will capture waste heat produced by the Kinder Morgan natural gas compressor along the Trailblazer natural gas pipeline in eastern Colorado.
Recovered energy generation projects use hot exhaust gases from an existing natural gas-fueled compressor station to generate electricity. The heat in the compressor exhaust stack is recovered using heat exchangers. The recovered heat is then used to vaporize a fluid to drive a turbine/generator set that ultimately produces the energy. Since the generator requires no additional fuel, renewable energy from the recovered heat is generated at a very low cost.
The project has virtually no emissions or environmental impact and is located within the existing compressor station yard. Overall, the project is considered a zero emission process, since the capture of waste heat is the primary source of energy to drive the process. In fact, the reduction of exhausted heat to the atmosphere can be considered a positive environmental impact.
“Through our partnership with Highline Electric Association and Kinder Morgan, this plant marks the seventh recovered energy generation (REG) project that Ormat owns and operates in the United States and the first REG project in Colorado,” said Lucien Bronicki, chairman and CTO, Ormat Technologies. “Recovered energy generation is an important part of emission reduction and promotes energy efficiency, and we look forward to the continued development of REG systems to generate power without need for any additional fuel or water.”
 “This project not only saves Highline’s members money, but it is clean renewable energy and is a vital part of providing reliable, affordable electricity to our region and nation,” said Mark Farnsworth, general manager of Highline Electric. “We look forward to continued progress at the community and utility-scale level in supporting the governor’s New Energy Economy.”
Based in the eastern Colorado town of Holyoke, Highline Electric is a member cooperative of Tri-State. In an effort to encourage the proliferation of local and community-based renewable energy projects, Tri-State launched its Member Local Renewable Project program in 2008. The program provides members with financial assistance from Tri-State for the development of local renewable energy projects that qualify in meeting renewable portfolio standards established in Colorado and New Mexico.
“Tri-State works with its member cooperatives to support the development of local, community-based renewable energy projects,” said Ken Anderson, Tri-State’s executive vice president and general manager. “Highline is using a locally available resource to help meet its renewable energy goals and we’re proud to partner with them.”
Under the program, Tri-State’s financial support of the local renewable project consists of performance payments based on the output of the project or attributes generated by the project for which the member can claim ownership.
Updated: June 25, 2009
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