Bay City, TX – October 27, 2008 – Getting the most value for that energy dollar while keeping an eye toward environmental responsibility is a top priority of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality – so you can imagine the excitement of TCEQ Professional Engineer Jeff Voorhis when he discovered the “Green Machine” at Southern Methodist University distributed by Gulf Coast Green Energy. The Green Machine generates emission free electricity from geothermal and industrial heat that is currently wasted.
Concerning Gulf Coast Green Energy’s waste heat generator, the “Green Machine” manufactured by ElectraTherm in Carson City, Nevada, Voorhis says “While this particular technology will never offset our current main power sources, it is a technology that makes the most of a potential energy source that is being lost and no one else is capturing. Energy efficiency is an environmental issue with major impact and implications for Texas companies. TCEQ is not endorsing or recommending this technology, but the benefits it offers is something many industries in Texas should look into. If you have a waste heat source, this technology might be a fit for you or potential for you to save power.”
“TCEQ is concerned about environmental impact and inefficiencies in the industry,” Voorhis explains. “Waste heat adds no value, but if you can capture it and turn it into electricity, that takes a load off other energy producing technologies such as coal fire plants. It’s getting the most value out of heat. Utilizing waste heat as an energy source directly replaces another source of energy currently being produced that is less clean, such as oil, gas and coal.
“There’s a lot of waste heat that is given off in the production of energy, and there’s a lot of potential for waste heat to be turned into energy,” continues Voorhis. “Waste heat is a free energy that we’re completely losing right now. We can’t afford BTUs to go in waste, especially when it’s so much more economical to have a recovery system in place to make the most of what is being wasted.
Voorhis believes that using waste heat as an additional power source to augment energy needs while offsetting costs is a viable and economical solution for many Texas companies. As energy costs soar, many companies are beginning to investigate how to make their old electrical generating equipment more energy-efficient or updating their systems to produce cleaner output. These same companies are also beginning to streamline their operations to cut down on wasted energy. Companies whose energy usage produces waste heat or pressure drops in the oil and gas industry are prime candidates for this technology.
“While this particular technology will never offset our current main power sources, it is a technology that makes the most of a potential energy source that is being lost and no one else is capturing,” says Voorhis. “Energy efficiency is an environmental issue with major impact and implications for Texas companies. TCEQ is not endorsing or recommending this technology for everyone, but the benefits it offers is something many industries in Texas should look into. If you have a waste heat source, this technology might be a fit for you or potential for you to save power.”
