ElectraTherm Inc, a US-based developer and manufacturer of distributed, waste heat to power generation using Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) technology has announced that it has shipped its first biomass application to Japan.
According to a statement, the “Power+ Generator” will utilize the waste heat streams from three reciprocating engines running on biomass. The power will supplement the power grid producing 24/7 renewable energy at an incentivized rate. This is ElectraTherm’s first biomass application in Japan, where the company already has two installations of micro-geothermal power plants.
ElectraTherm utilizes Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) and proprietary technologies to generate power from low-temperature heat ranging from 77-122°C. ElectraTherm has over 20 sites worldwide where biomass is the feedstock – mainly from woodchips and chicken manure feeding biomass boilers.
At this particular site, biomass is gasified to fuel small engines to produce distributed baseload power. All the energy produced by the engines and the ElectraTherm ORC is sold back to the grid at an incentivized rate.
Japan has growing energy supply concerns and intermittent renewables have really grown. The desire for 24/7 baseload renewables is raising interest in biomass as a great addition to their renewable energy portfolio goals. Japan offers an attractive feed-in-tariff rate for renewable energy and the ability to supplement the grid with baseload power is especially attractive, said John Fox, Managing Director of ElectraTherm.
