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Geothermal

The ORC technology is particularly suitable for the exploitation of medium-to-low enthalpy sources. It is a cost-effective solution with power outputs reaching up to 40 MWe per single generator for sources with water temperature from 100°C to 200°C or higher.

17

plants*

127.30000000000001

MWe total

2000

first plant delivered

*3 plants are under construction

  • TURBODEN GEOTHERMAL APPLICATION
  • VELIKA CIGLENA - 17.5 MW GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANT
  • LIGHTNING DOCK - 14 MW GEOTHERMAL PLANT

Binary geothermal ORC plant with closed loop

Binary geothermal ORC plant with closed loop

GEOTHERMAL SOURCE

Heat from the ground can be used as an energy source and it can be found in many regions of the world, especially at tectonic plate boundaries or at places where the crust is thin enough to let the heat through. The most common way of capturing energy from geothermal resources is to tap into naturally occurring hydrothermal convection systems, where cooler water seeps into earth’s crust and is heated up within a reservoir. 

Natural hydrothermal convection systems
  • Average plant availability: 98% on all the fleet in operation
  • Complete in-house design (above ground process and technology)

BINARY ORC TECHNOLOGY

Binary ORC plants use heat exchange to exploit geothermal fluid to heat up and vaporize a secondary organic fluid that drives a turbine and produces electric power. In this way, the geothermal fluid remains within a closed loop of piping (from the reservoir to the reinjection) without passing through the turbine, with no harmful emissions into the atmosphere. The heat that is not converted into electricity can be delivered to a thermal user or dissipated through a suitable cooling system. ORC is very effective for exploiting resources with high steam fractions at locations where it is not convenient to collect and deliver all the fluids to a centralized station, but preferable to employ modular well-head units. Existing single-flash power plants can be improved by adding an ORC system on the separated brine stream, before reinjection. This makes it possible to produce more power from the same geothermal resource.

WHY SELECTING A FLUID DIFFERENT FROM WATER

By selecting a “lower boiling fluid” rather than water it is possible to efficiently exploit also heat sources within the range of 100 °C to 200 °C. Thermodynamic cycle configurations, which are inaccessible in the state diagram of water, can be obtained with organic fluids having different parameters, and with high efficiency.

ADVANTAGES

  • Zero emissions and full reinjection achievable
  • No corrosion and no scaling in the turbine: geo fluid remains outside the binary loop
  • High steam and brine heat conversion with binary cycle efficiency up to 25%
  • Multi-stage axial turbine
  • Less sensitive than radial turbines to ambient temperature variations, showing nearly constant efficiency over a wide range of operating conditions
  • The most widely adopted in turbomachinery design, proven with billions of working hours worldwide
  • More than 90% turbine isentropic efficiency achieved
  • More than 60 different turbines developed on 4 standard frames
  • 10 different working fluids (hydrocarbons, HFCs, HFOs)
  • Patented seal and bearing replacement system
  • Direct drive: rotation speed from 1,500 rpm to 3,000 rpm
  • Robust design, low vibration, and strict quality tests in collaboration with the Mitsubishi team

OUR EXPERIENCE

  • Capacity: Solutions up to 40 MW per single generator
  • Temperature range: from 100 °C to more than 200 °C
  • Working fluids: Hydrocarbons, HFCs, HFOs
  • Thermodynamic process and control philosophy designed by Turboden
  • Turbine type: Axial multi stage, Turboden proprietary design
  • Key equipment designed in house (e.g. Air Cooled Condenser and Heat Exchangers)
  • Operation in remote areas: off grid capability (island mode) and active grid balancing
  • Combined heat and power solutions

TYPICAL SOLUTIONS

ORC size location customer status notes
0.5 MWe Livorno, Italy Enel off Supercritical prototype
1 MWe Altheim, Austria Marktgemeinde Altheim GmbH In operation since 2001 Heat & Power
1.7 MWe Soultz-sous-Forêts, France GEIE - Exploitation Minière de la Chaleur In operation since 2016 Electric power production
11 MWe France Fonroche Geothermie Under construction Electric power production
14 MWe Animas, United States of America Cyrq Energy Inc. In operation since 2018 Electric power production
17.5 MWe Velika Ciglena, Bjelovar, Croatia Geoen d.o.o. In operation since 2018 Electric power production
3 MWe Afyonkarahisar, Turkey Afjet (Afyon Jeotermal) In operation since 2016 Electric power production
3.4 MWe Holzkirchen, Germany Geothermie Holzkirchen GmbH In operation since 2019 Heat & Power
8 MWe El Salvador LaGeo Under construction Electric power production
4.1 MWe Traunreut, Germany Geothermische Kraftwerksgesellschaft Traunreut GmbH In operation since 2016 Heat & Power
5 MWe Sauerlach (Munich), Germany SWM - StadtWerke München In operation since 2013 Heat & Power
5.6 MWe Duerrnhaar (Munich), Germany SWM - StadtWerke München In operation since 2012 Electric power production
5.6 MWe Kirchstockach (Munich), Germany SWM - StadtWerke München In operation since 2013 Electric power production
6 MWe Japan Mitsubishi Heavy Industries In operation since 2015 Electric power production
8.2 MWe Geretsried, Germany Eavor Erdwärme Geretsried GmbH Under construction Electric power production
29 MWe Philippines Bac-Man Geothermal Inc. In operation since 2024 Electric power production
3.7 MWe Germany E.ON Business Solutions GmbH / FG Geothermie GmbH In operation since 2022 Electric power production



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