US GreenFire Energy gets USD-2m state grant for geothermal technology project

(ADPnews) - Sep 23, 2010 - US renewable energy firm GreenFire Partners LLC said yesterday it had received a USD-2-million (EUR 1.5m) government grant to explore and assess the possibility of geothermal power generation technologies based on low-temperature carbon dioxide (CO2).

The company intends to combine the grant, which was awarded under the Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Program, with other in-kind contributions aiming to gather a significant initial budget for a geothermal R&D project in the St Johns Dome in eastern Arizona. GreenFire plans to apply its CO2E technology, which uses CO2 as the working fluid in a geothermal energy plant. This is the first grant given for such a project.

The St Johns Dome represents a natural CO2 dome, which is believed to be located above a moderate-temperature geothermal heat resource, thus providing perfect location for such development. Moreover, the area is connected to the local power grid, with six big coal-fired power facilities situated nearby, emitting 90 million tonnes of CO2 annually. GreenFire expects to be able to use these emissions to boost power production, if carbon capture technologies are deployed in the future.

According to the company, the advantages of the CO2-based geothermal energy include lower capital and operational expenses, no air emissions and reduction of carbon levels.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.748)

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