The team of GEG wishes you, your families and colleagues happy holidays and best wishes for a successful new geothermal year.
This year’s picture shows the local lake near our office in Reykjavik, Iceland. This year has been an eventful year for all of us and while we cannot share some of the great things we have been working on, there are definitely big new steps for us that we will report on early in the new year.
In the mean time stay safe and hopefully we can meet again soon in person.
GEG Power is sharing the pride with Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen). GEG developed and build the successful geothermal wellhead plants for KenGen with a total installed capacity of 81.6 MW … check in with us to see how a modular approach to geothermal development can profit your project.
This video shows a timelapse of the construction of a 5 MW flash-condensing geothermal wellhead power plant. The plant was built for the client Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen).
Construction on the site took 30 weeks, from the civil works, laying the foundations to the connection to the grid and start of operations.
GEG recently received certification of the company quality management system according to international standard ISO 9001. The certification covers the provision of project management for design, procurement and construction, commissioning, and associated services of geothermal power solutions.
Pictured above from left to right are Sigthor Jonsson, CEO and Snorri Einarsson, CTO of the company.
The team of GEG Power wishes you, your families and colleagues a happy holidays and best wishes for a successful new geothermal year.
This year’s picture shows a proud moment for our company, the new 5 MW Bjarnaflag geothermal power plant, built by GEG for Icelandic national power company Landsvirkjun.
The completion of this contract and our work is a milestone for GEG, as it was our first contract outside of Kenya. It has been an honour being trusted to put our geothermal expertise to work and particularly in Iceland, one of the leading countries in the geothermal sphere. With the successful delivery and set-up of a back-pressure unit, we have also expanded our solution offering for small-scale geothermal power plants beyond flash-based turbine-genset packages.
So you can trust there is more to come from us in the new year.
GEG is proud to report the successful conclusion of its contract to supply and build a 5 MW turbine-generator package for the Bjarnarflag geothermal power plant in the Northeast of Iceland.
GEG was awarded the contract by Icelandic national power company Landsvirkjun to design, manufacture and supply a replacement back-pressure turbine and generator, which was delivered, installed and commissioned on site.
The previous equipment, initially put into operation in a sugar factory in the United Kingdom in 1934, was set up to utilise geothermal energy for power generation at Lake Mývatn in Iceland in 1969. With the removal of the older equipment starting in March 2019 and subsequent renovations of the station, a new turbine-generator package was installed, as well as new electrical equipment. Testing began for the refurbished station in April 2019 with final testing taking place this autumn with the plant being now fully operational. With the addition of the refurbished station, security of electricity supply to the region improved.
With higher efficiency of the new plant, the plant now provides 2 MW more in power generation capacity, utilising the same amount of steam. A new operating license has been issued, as well as a renewed power plant and geothermal resource utilisation license. Thereby, the future of energy production at Bjarnarflag is guaranteed for the near future.
The Bjarnarflag plant is located in proximity to the Krafla geothermal field in the Northeast of Iceland, and has been an important contributor to the local economy since 1969, satisfying not only local energy demand but also hot water for local heating supply and to the nature baths at Lake Mývatn via excess water from the plant.
“We are proud to see the Bjarnarflag plant starting operation in Iceland. The completion of the contract and our work is a milestone for GEG, as it was our first contract outside of Kenya, following our delivery of 15 modular geothermal wellhead power plants to KenGen in the Olkaria steam field in Kenya. It has been an honour being trusted to put our geothermal expertise to work and particularly in Iceland, one of the leading countries in the geothermal sphere. With the successful delivery and set-up of a back-pressure unit, we have also expanded our solution offering for small-scale geothermal power plants beyond flash-based turbine-genset packages.”, says Sigthor Jónsson, Managing Director of GEG.
“We can proudly present a geothermal power project successfully executed with the coordinated effort by Icelandic professionals, supplemented by high quality equipment suppliers. Special thanks to M+M Turbinentechnik along with our Icelandic subcontractors Deilir Technical Services, Orkusýn and PSC.”, says Snorri Einarsson, Managing Director, Technology & Engineering of GEG.
GEG is a pioneer in geothermal modular power plant technology. Delivered on an EPC/ turn-key basis, GEG’s solution allows for an approach to geothermal power development using modules, commissioned on site in a short period of time. It enables a reduction in capital cost and project risk, providing a quicker payback on investment. The company offers plant sizes from 3.5 MWe to 10 MWe in single or twin turbine set-ups. Since 2011, GEG has successfully built and delivered 16 geothermal wellhead power plants with a total installed power generation capacity of 86 MWe.
See the official release by Landsvirkjun
At the Iceland Geothermal Conference held this week in Reykjavik, Iceland, several speakers addressed challenges of geothermal development in the context of attracting investor interest and speeding up development.
At least three presentations at the conference covered in one way or another the approach to use geothermal wellhead power plants to help speed up development. Several others actually highlighted their interest to apply smaller scale development, e.g. representatives from Kenya.
In a joint presentation by Rúnar Magnússon of Icelandic engineering firm EFLA and Dr. Tryggvi Thór Herbertsson of Taurus, it was looked at how investors could be attracted to invest into geothermal projects.
In their presentation, they looked at a 50 MW project and a 10 MW project, showing the dramatic decrease in time it takes to develop a smaller project compared to a larger project, often shaving off 3 years of the time it takes to complete a project.
Naturally, the issue of risk in geothermal development was discussed, highlighting the different risk profiles in geothermal project development and willingness of investors to start at what stages. Their presentation then described different risk mitigation strategies.
But then the presentation became rather interesting, as it was looking into the excessive capital expenditure risk, showing that “risk increases exponentially with the size of the project”, mostly based on the risk on the resource to be utilised actually being smaller than anticipated.
Therefore, so the presenters, the case of a “sliced project development” is seen as favourable. So while “it is more expensive to build in incremental steps, it though gives higher returns, due to the lower risk, and is thus preferable to the private investor.”
The basic message is that in order to increase involvement of private investors in geothermal power, use of soft-money for risk mitigation or tax benefits, need to be paired with a gradual development approach.
Essentially, a description of the staged geothermal wellhead power plant approach and solution offered by Green Energy Geothermal.
Canadian investor enters geothermal market with acquisition of Green Energy Iceland and Green Energy Geothermal
Energy Co-Invest Global Corp. (ECC Global) has acquired all key assets of Green Energy Geothermal (GEG), a leading provider of turn-key modular geothermal wellhead power plants. ECC Global is consolidating GEG’s operations at new global headquarters in Reykjavik, Iceland, where GEG has maintained its core engineering and support teams since its founding in 2008.
GEG provides unique EPC solutions to geothermal projects globally. The company has deep experience in design, engineering, procurement, commissioning and operation of geothermal power plants. Working closely with a consortium of international partners and suppliers, GEG offers world-leading Icelandic geothermal expertise and on-site know-how on a global scale.
With a fully commercialized technology, GEG has delivered fifteen modular geothermal wellhead plants with a combined capacity of 81 MW. The company is currently engaged with the final stages of constructing a 5 MW turbine-generator in Iceland for Landsvirkjun, the Icelandic National Power Company. A series of projects are underway in Asia, East Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.
All GEG projects benefit from unparalleled speed-to-revenue, a core driver of the modular solution. Together with financing from ECC Global, the packaged full suite offer to EPC customers and IPP partners will continue into new project types via strategic alliances with technical partners.
Jordan Oxley, CEO of ECC Global, noted that “Working with GEG over the past two years, we came to recognize the inherent benefits of their technologies and their approach. The ability to mitigate the key financial and technical risks for geothermal developers and financiers is compelling. Many share the view that it will become the next best practice for the industry.” Oxley continued: “Together with their world class team located in the geothermal world capital, GEG is a most impressive company with an unlimited potential. The opportunity to acquire the company and bring a partnered finance capacity is simply a rare and amazing entry to a high value industry.”
About Green Energy Geothermal
Green Energy Geothermal (GEG) is the world leader in wellhead power plants. Delivered on a turn-key basis, GEG’s modular approach uses prefabricated modules, commissioned on-site with an accelerated delivery schedule. It enables a reduction in capital cost, quicker initial revenue, lower project risk, and an overall faster and better payback on investment. Since 2011, GEG has successfully built and delivered 15 geothermal wellhead power plants with a total installed power generation capacity of 81 MWe and offers standard sizes of 3.5MWe and 10MWe per module.
GEG is headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland where the company’s engineering and technical team is based. For more information, please see www.GEG.is.
For ECC Global, visit www.energycoinvest.com.
At the Iceland Geothermal Conference, Green Energy Geothermal gave a presentation as part of a session on competitiveness and innovation.
Featuring three technology providers, including GEG, a proposed GeoMagma power plant and a presentation the competitiveness of the geothermal sector, the session focused on how different approaches could help in more geothermal development.
In its presentation, GEG focused on a recent financial model done by a third party, looking at the financial impact of staging a larger-scale geothermal development 110 MW project. The case study looked at two scenarios, the traditional approach with two 55 MW units and another approach with eleven 10 MW units by GEG.
In the financial study done by a third party on behalf of a potential client, it was analysed on how sliced development with smaller units impacts the time to completion and the impact on the financial results of the project.
The model describes a favourable funding situation, highlighting a decreased equity requirement for project funding, due to the actual cash flow generated by smaller units. Under the scenario, the first three smaller units would actually be generating electricity up to two and a half years earlier than the first larger-scale unit and thereby create revenues that change the financing requirements dramatically. In the case study for the 110 MW project, it is shown that utilising the smaller units, the equity requirement by the developer decreases by up to $100 million, about 23% less than with two larger scale units. The largest reason for this is the cash generated from operations, higher non-equipment capital expenditures and development cost, such as related to design work and cost for steam gathering system.
Our presentation also shared the results of the analysis on how the internal rate of return (IRR) is impacted by a sliced approach with the smaller units. In its analysis, the client’s consultants estimate that the IRR for a smaller staged approach would result in up to 6.3% more IRR than an approach with two larger units, from 11.9% for conventional approach to 18.3% for wellhead plant approach. Here the staged development is seen as the key element, due to the earlier revenues from the plant, followed by the lower capital expenditures for wellhead plants and the lower operating costs.
The overall message provided by the case study presented is that “A faster route to power production, which improves the business case, is to use ‘wellhead generators’.”
In a case study presentation at the Iceland Geothermal Conference, Peter Chege, Assistant Manager, responsible for the Geothermal Wellhead plants at Kenya Electricity Generating Company Ltd. (KenGen) provided an insight into how KenGen successfully developed and implemented its geothermal wellhead strategy.
He discussed early studies on utilising geothermal wells already drilled back in 2001, that were seen as too expensive. A few years later, KenGen revisited this due to the lack of financing for its conventional large-scale projects and the financial challenges due to prolonged draughts and dropping output from its hydropower plants.
In 2007, KenGen explored the implementation of a 5 MW geothermal wellhead power plant as a research and development project. Under a tender in late 2009, Green Energy Group (now Green Energy Geothermal, GEG) won the competitive bidding to design, install and commission a 5 MW pilot plant at well OW37. The pilot plant was then successfully test run in April 2012 and the pilot run completed in November 2013.
KenGen then signed a contract with GEG on design, supply, installation and commissioning of 65 MW wellhead power generation capacity back in May 2010, and the contract was to become effective on successful pilot plant implementation. The contract was then amended in September 2012 to allow for more modularity, with certain design changes. Under the contract, GEG was to deliver design, deliver and install standard modular plants based on 3.2 MW and 5.0 MW turbines.
Within a time frame of April 2014 to March 2017, GEG build four 6.4 MW and ten 5 MW geothermal wellhead plants on 7 well pads at the Olkaria geothermal field in Kenya.
In his presentation, Peter Chege, though also highlighted the challenges experienced throughout the development and how they were addressed.
Among the challenges were the mobility of the plants, which were solved with improvements to design and redesign of specific components – containerized plant systems (ECU, substations, cooling tower cells), and civil works and the need for step-up transformers. The latter issues were solved by GEG actually providing the civil works required for the project and GEG developing and delivering up to 14 substations to help connect the wellhead plants to the grid.
Today, the plants provide an annual revenue of USD 34 million to KenGen and are expected to repay the investment within four to five years.
Seen as a successful implementation, KenGen wants to fast track the wellhead implementation strategy and a continued improvement of the strategy. With its experience, KenGen also believes it can provide consultancy / project implementation to other utilities in the region in partnership with GEG