Enel Green Power has brought Enel’s expertise in geothermal power to the United States, receiving recognition for its outstanding work, such as Stillwater, the first hybrid geothermal-PV solar power plant in the world.
With capacity of 47 megawatts, two highly innovative geothermal power plants that satisfy the energy needs of 40,000 American households and cut CO2 emissions by more than 300,000 tonnes, Enel Green Power has an important presence in the United States, where EGP has brought with it Enel’s expertise in geothermal power. At Stillwater EGP built the first geothermal-PV solar power plant in the world.
The Stillwater plant is innovative in two ways. Firstly because it uses the binary cycle technology developed by Enel Research, which allows it to harness middle and low enthalpy fluids, whose temperature alone is not sufficient to produce electricity at an industrial level. Second, Stillwater is the first power plant in the world that adds a PV solar plant with a capacity of 26 MW to 33MW geothermal production, bringing total capacity to 59 MW. This experimental technology could aid the development of standalone geothermal or solar plants which are both technologically feasible and less costly.
Thanks to the Stillwater Solar-Geothermal Hybrid Project, last year EGP North America won the second edition of the GEA Honors Awards in the Technological Advancement category. This acknowledgment, promoted by the US Geothermal Energy Association (GEA), rewards businesses and people who have distinguished themselves over in the field over the year, promoting economic development or protection of the environment.
EGP obtained further recognition of its excellence in May, when EGP North America was shortlisted with four other businesses as the sole participants worldwide in future tenders launched by the US Army for geothermal energy supplies.
Besides Stillwater, Enel Green Power also manages the 13.4MW Salt Wells geothermal power plant, which is also in Nevada, while at Cove Fort in Utah, it is building another geothermal plant that uses the same cutting edge technology.