編者(zhe)按：日(ri)前，國際電(dian)力行業知名(ming)刊物《Power》刊登(deng)題為“模(mo)塊化發電(dian)廠正在(zai)提高肯尼亞地熱(re)效率”的(de)(de)文章，向全球(qiu)介紹(shao)我集(ji)團首創(chuang)的(de)(de)地熱(re)井口電(dian)站(zhan)技(ji)術及其成(cheng)就。這是繼新華社、《人民日報》等(deng)中國央媒介紹(shao)開山(shan)在(zai)肯尼亞取得的(de)(de)成(cheng)就之后(hou)，又一個國際級媒體(ti)的(de)(de)推介。
《Power Magazine》在全(quan)球(qiu)電力(li)(li)行(xing)(xing)(xing)業(ye)(ye)具有顯著(zhu)的(de)(de)(de)影響(xiang)力(li)(li)。作(zuo)為全(quan)球(qiu)最古老的(de)(de)(de)能源行(xing)(xing)(xing)業(ye)(ye)期刊之(zhi)一(yi)，自(zi)1882年創刊以來，已成為電力(li)(li)行(xing)(xing)(xing)業(ye)(ye)內的(de)(de)(de)重要信息(xi)來源和(he)(he)行(xing)(xing)(xing)業(ye)(ye)標準(zhun)。其影響(xiang)力(li)(li)既源于權(quan)威(wei)性和(he)(he)歷史性，還因為其擁有廣泛的(de)(de)(de)受眾群體，讀者(zhe)涵蓋了(le)全(quan)球(qiu)電力(li)(li)行(xing)(xing)(xing)業(ye)(ye)專業(ye)(ye)人士(shi)，包(bao)括電力(li)(li)工程師、運營經理(li)、技(ji)(ji)術(shu)專家、決(jue)策者(zhe)和(he)(he)企業(ye)(ye)高管，它通過提供(gong)深入的(de)(de)(de)技(ji)(ji)術(shu)分析、案例(li)研究和(he)(he)行(xing)(xing)(xing)業(ye)(ye)新聞，幫助(zhu)專業(ye)(ye)人士(shi)做出更好的(de)(de)(de)決(jue)策和(he)(he)理(li)解行(xing)(xing)(xing)業(ye)(ye)動態。《Power Magazine》在全(quan)球(qiu)電力(li)(li)行(xing)(xing)(xing)業(ye)(ye)扮演重要的(de)(de)(de)角色(se)，既是信息(xi)傳(chuan)播的(de)(de)(de)重要渠道，也(ye)是行(xing)(xing)(xing)業(ye)(ye)趨(qu)勢和(he)(he)技(ji)(ji)術(shu)發(fa)展的(de)(de)(de)風(feng)向(xiang)標，該刊物宣介(jie)開(kai)山地(di)熱井口模塊電站技(ji)(ji)術(shu)標志著(zhu)我集團擁有自(zi)主知識產權(quan)的(de)(de)(de)核心技(ji)(ji)術(shu)得到(dao)業(ye)(ye)內主流(liu)媒體的(de)(de)(de)認同，也(ye)料將極大地(di)推動開(kai)山技(ji)(ji)術(shu)在全(quan)球(qiu)的(de)(de)(de)應用(yong)。
下(xia)面是本編輯部轉發的新聞鏈(lian)接和轉載(zai)文章的中(zhong)英(ying)文對照文本，以饗讀者(zhe)。
原文鏈接：//www.powermag.com/a-modular-power-plant-is-steaming-up-kenyas-geothermal-efficiency/
A Modular Power Plant Is Steaming Up Kenya's Geothermal Efficiency
Sosian Menegai during the commissioning phase. Courtesy: Kaishan Group
Sosian Menengai Geothermal Power, Kenya’s newest geothermal power plant, is powered by modular technology that maximizes efficiency, reduces costs, and enhances scalability.
Kenya’s scenic Rift Valley region is a literal hotbed of geothermal potential. Part of the vast East African Rift Valley System (EARS), a 6,400-kilometer (km) tectonic divergence that is cleaving the African continent into two plates, Kenya’s Rift Valley forms a vertical corridor of intensive faulting and volcanic activity, hot springs, fumaroles, and sulfur-oozing fissures. But while the country began geothermal exploration for power development in the 1950s, most of its investments have been focused on the Olkaria region situated within Hell’s Gate National Park near the flamingo-flecked Lake Naivasha in Nakuru County. Five of six geothermal power stations in Olkaria are owned by KenGen (with a combined capacity of 799 MW), while Nevada-based Ormat Technologies owns a 150-MW plant. Olkaria plants in 2023 provided nearly 45% of Kenya’s total generation, a sizeable contribution to the East African powerhouse’s meager 3.3-GW installed capacity.
In 2008, the Geothermal Development Co. (GDC), a state-owned special-purpose vehicle tasked with accelerating the nation’s geothermal resource development, expanded its focus to the Menengai region just north of Olkaria, at the site of a massive shield volcano with one of the biggest calderas in the world. While GDC says the Menengai complex harbors a potential of 1,600 MW, its long-term goal is to develop 465 MW of geothermal steam equivalent.
In 2013, it took the first step to competitively award the first three initial 35-MW power projects at the complex to three independent power producers (IPPs): Orpower 22 (a former subsidiary of New York firm Symbion now owned by China’s Kaishan Group), South African-based Quantum Power East Africa (now majority owned by UK firm Globeleq), and Nairobi-headquartered Sosian Energy. In August 2023, the first of these projects—Menengai III, now formally known as the Sosian Menengai Geothermal Power—wrapped up a 16-month construction timeframe and began delivering first power to the grid.
Map showing location of geothermal area along the Kenyan Rift Valley. Courtesy: KenGen
A Technology Breakthrough
Sosian’s condensed timeframe is especially stunning given that traditional geothermal development can exceed seven years. This is owing in part to a complex process that involves drilling and testing multiple wells, selecting a centralized power plant location, ordering steam turbines, and constructing extensive steam collection and reinjection systems. The traditional approach is also ridden with risks, including significant delays and inefficiencies, such as energy losses from steam pressure drops, thermal losses over long distances, and the underutilization of wells with varying pressures.
Sosian, to some measure, had the benefit of the GDC’s public-private partnership model for developing Menengai, under which the GDC assumes upfront risks of geothermal development. The state company has also notably set out to develop the field in five phases, starting with a 105-MW “steam sales” model, where it supplies steam from drilled wells to the power plants via a 25-km steam gathering and piping system. As of 2023, GDC had drilled 53 wells with a potential of 169 MW.
;However, the power plant’s success can also be attributed to a distinctive new geothermal development process introduced by China’s Kaishan Group. Dr. Tang Yan, general manager of Kaishan Group, recalled realizing the need for a dramatic shift at a 2015 geothermal conference in Melbourne, Australia, where experts discussed the pitfalls of conventional methods. “I said, ‘Why don’t you put a power plant on the wellhead and do it phase by phase?’ ” he recounted.
Overcoming Traditional Challenges
While the approach proposed to support incremental power production from the start while providing revenue to support future project expansion, Yan learned no technology to support the approach was commercially available. Kaishan, which had then already begun its transition from a giant Shanghai-headquartered air compressor maker to a diversified global company, jumped into action to leverage its 2012-developed Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) expander and screw steam expander technologies.
The technologies—originally developed for waste heat recovery from refineries and steel mills—allowed Kaishan to optimize geothermal power generation by maximizing energy output from varying well conditions, reducing inefficiencies, and enabling the development of four types of decentralized, modular power plants that are quicker to deploy and more adaptable to different geothermal fields, Yan told POWER. “These modular power plants include the steam screw expander modular power plants, the steam ORC modular power plants, the brine ORC modular power plants, and the steam and brine dual resource modular power plants,” he explained.
Steam screw expanders are specifically designed to handle wet or saturated steam, which is common in geothermal wells, effectively extracting energy from a wider range of well conditions, including wells with high non-condensable gas (NCG) content that may not be suitable for traditional turbines. ORC systems, meanwhile, are adept at converting lower-temperature steam and brine—byproducts that would otherwise go to waste—into additional electricity, Yan said.
In addition, Kaishan’s modular plants can be used to form hybrid cycles or thermal systems to meet any production well conditions, maximize their power output, and eliminate low-head pressure (WHP) wasted wells or idling wells. Because the technologies can be adapted to specific geothermal resource conditions at different project sites, they can be tailored to provide stellar efficiency, he said. “We can improve the well thermal efficiency of, for example, medium enthalpy wells, to up to 18% and 19%,” he said. That compares to only 8% to 12% for traditional centralized power plants that only use single-flash steam, he noted.
he 35-MWe Sosian Menengai Geothermal Power plant was commissioned in August 2023. The plant uses two Kaishan geothermal steam counterpressure screw expanders, which discharge their exhausts into three Organic Rankine Cycle units. Courtesy: Kaishan Group
A Competitive Edge for New Geothermal Power
Kaishan quickly expanded the niche technology into a lucrative business. Since it put online the first of four phases of the 240-MW Sorik Marapi Geothermal Project in Indonesia in 2018, it has built the 10-MW Sokoria Geothermal, also in Indonesia, alongside projects in Turkey, the U.S., and Hungary. At Sosian, Kaishan’s first project in Kenya, the company served as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor.
According to Yan, Kaishan’s cost-effective price point proved a crucial selection advantage. Kaishan’s EPC contract is valued at $65 million, compared to a $108 million EPC contract recently awarded for Menengai II, one of the region’s three equally sized IPP projects. The price difference is rooted in the technology selection, Yan explained. While Sosian’s 35-MW project was designed as a centralized power plant, it is powered by two steam screw expanders and three wet steam ORC modular power plants.
However, GDC’s steam contains 3.3% NCG—which represents a “huge percentage,” he said. If Sosian used traditional steam turbines, they would need to expand steam at 6 bar absolute and then consume more then 30 tons of steam per hour to remove NCG using steam injectors and vacuum pumps. Instead, Sosian employs steam screw expanders and a bottom cycle to handle the saturated steam discharge, reducing the steam to atmospheric levels throughout the entire process while eliminating the parasitic power typically consumed by vacuum systems.
“The overall efficiency compared to a traditional steam turbine is a huge game changer for this site,” Yan said. “The project only needed a guarantee of 33.25 MW, and the target was 35 MW, but we’re actually generating 37 MW.” At the same time, the project doesn’t need to purchase the extra 10% of steam for a steam injector, putting less of a burden on the GDC, he said.
A Solution for Idled Wells
The modularity of the system also proved beneficial to speed up construction and, crucially, to overcome supply chain and project management challenges posed by the COVID pandemic, Yan said. Kaishan typically assembles the modules and conducts component testing in a factory setting over six to nine months, he said. “And then, when we ship to the site, usually it takes a very short time to put them together, and you don’t need to do any welding on the power modules,” he added. “That’s sometimes where quality control can be a challenge,” he noted.
The success of the Sosian Menegai project has so far sparked significant interest in Kenya’s geothermal industry, Yan said. A key reason is that Kenya has a lot of wells, and an estimated 25% to 30% of those wells may not be supported by a steam collection system, which is needed by centralized steam turbines. “They call them idled wells or wasted wells, and they sit there and do nothing,” even if it was costly to drill them, he said. “But our technology doesn’t have that limitation because we can use any good pressure, whether they can produce brine or steam.”
—Sonal Patel is a POWER senior editor (@sonalcpatel, @POWERmagazine).
中文翻譯(yi)稿
模塊化發電廠正在提高肯尼亞(ya)地熱效率
調試階段的 Sosian Menegai。圖片來(lai)源(yuan)：開山集團
肯尼亞最新的地熱(re)發電廠 Sosian Menengai 地熱發電廠(chang)采用(yong)模塊化技術，可最大限度提高效率(lv)、降低(di)成本并增(zeng)強可擴展性。
肯尼亞風(feng)景秀麗的(de)(de)裂谷(gu)地(di)(di)區是(shi)地(di)(di)熱資源(yuan)的(de)(de)寶庫(ku)。肯尼亞裂谷(gu)是(shi)廣闊的(de)(de)東非大(da)裂谷系統 (EARS) 的(de)(de)(de)一部分(fen)(fen)，東(dong)非大裂谷系統是一個長達(da) 6,400 公里(li)(li)的(de)(de)(de)地質構造分(fen)(fen)叉，將非洲(zhou)大陸一分(fen)(fen)為(wei)二(er)。肯(ken)(ken)尼亞裂谷形成(cheng)了(le)一個垂直(zhi)走廊，其中有密集的(de)(de)(de)斷層(ceng)和(he)火(huo)山活動(dong)、溫泉(quan)、噴(pen)氣孔和(he)硫(liu)磺滲出的(de)(de)(de)裂縫。盡管肯(ken)(ken)尼亞在 20 世紀 50 年代就開(kai)始進行地熱勘探(tan)以開(kai)發電(dian)力(li)，但其大部分(fen)(fen)投資都(dou)集中在位于地獄之門國家公園(yuan)內的(de)(de)(de)奧(ao)爾(er)(er)卡里(li)(li)亞地區(qu)，該公園(yuan)靠近納庫魯縣火(huo)烈鳥點綴(zhui)的(de)(de)(de)納瓦沙湖。奧(ao)爾(er)(er)卡里(li)(li)亞的(de)(de)(de)六(liu)座地熱發電(dian)站(zhan)(zhan)中有五座歸 KenGen 所有（總容量(liang)(liang)為(wei) 799 兆瓦），而總部位于內華達(da)州的(de)(de)(de) Ormat Technologies擁有一座 150 兆瓦的(de)(de)(de)發電(dian)站(zhan)(zhan)。到 2023 年，奧(ao)爾(er)(er)卡里(li)(li)亞 (Olkaria) 電(dian)廠將提供肯(ken)(ken)尼亞近 45% 的(de)(de)(de)總發電(dian)量(liang)(liang)，為(wei)這(zhe)個東(dong)非強國僅有的(de)(de)(de) 3.3 吉瓦的(de)(de)(de)裝機容量(liang)(liang)做出了(le)巨大貢獻。
2008 年，地(di)熱(re)開(kai)發(fa)公司 (GDC) 將(jiang)重(zhong)點擴大(da)到奧爾卡里(li)亞以北的(de)(de)梅(mei)(mei)嫩蓋(gai)地(di)區(qu)，該地(di)區(qu)是(shi)一座巨大(da)的(de)(de)盾形火(huo)山，擁有世界上最大(da)的(de)(de)火(huo)山口之一。地(di)熱(re)開(kai)發(fa)公司是(shi)一家國(guo)有特殊目(mu)的(de)(de)公司，其(qi)任務是(shi)加(jia)速該國(guo)的(de)(de)地(di)熱(re)資源(yuan)開(kai)發(fa)。GDC 表示(shi)，梅(mei)(mei)嫩蓋(gai)綜(zong)合體蘊藏著 1,600 兆(zhao)瓦的(de)(de)地(di)熱(re)潛力，但其(qi)長(chang)期目(mu)標是(shi)開(kai)發(fa) 465 兆(zhao)瓦的(de)(de)地(di)熱(re)蒸汽當量。
2013 年，該(gai)集團邁(mai)出(chu)了(le)第(di)一步，通過(guo)競爭(zheng)方(fang)式將該(gai)綜(zong)合(he)體中的前三(san)個 35 兆瓦發電項(xiang)目授予三(san)家獨立電力供應商 (IPP)：Orpower 22（前身為(wei)紐約 Symbion 公司的(de)子公司，現歸中國(guo)開山(shan)集(ji)團所有）、總(zong)部(bu)位于南非的(de) Quantum Power East Africa（現由英國(guo)公司 Globeleq 控股(gu)）和總(zong)部(bu)位于內羅畢的(de) Sosian Energy。2023 年 8 月，這些項目中的(de)第一個項目——Menengai III（現正(zheng)式稱為(wei) Sosian Menengai 地熱發電項目）結束了為(wei)期(qi) 16 個月的(de)建設工期(qi)，并開始向(xiang)電網輸送第一批(pi)電力。
地圖顯示了肯尼亞(ya)裂谷(gu)沿線地熱區的位(wei)置。圖片來源(yuan)：KenGen
技術突破
鑒于傳統地熱(re)開發可能(neng)要耗時超過(guo)七年，Sosian 的(de)(de)縮短(duan)工期尤其令人震(zhen)驚。這在一定(ding)程(cheng)度上歸因于一個復雜的(de)(de)過(guo)程(cheng)，包括鉆探和測試多(duo)個井、選擇集中發電廠(chang)位置(zhi)、訂購蒸汽(qi)渦(wo)輪機以(yi)及建(jian)造(zao)廣泛的(de)(de)蒸汽(qi)收集和再注入系(xi)統。傳統方法(fa)也充滿風險，包括嚴重的(de)(de)延誤和效率低下(xia)，例如蒸汽(qi)壓力下(xia)降造(zao)成(cheng)的(de)(de)能(neng)量損(sun)失、長距離熱(re)損(sun)失以(yi)及壓力變化的(de)(de)井的(de)(de)利用不足。
在某種(zhong)程度上，Sosian 受益于 GDC 開(kai)(kai)發 Menengai 的(de)(de)公私(si)合(he)作(zuo)模式(shi)，根(gen)據(ju)該模式(shi)，GDC 承擔地熱(re)開(kai)(kai)發的(de)(de)前期風險。值(zhi)得注意的(de)(de)是，這家國有公司還計劃(hua)分五個階段(duan)開(kai)(kai)發該地熱(re)田，首先采用 105 兆(zhao)瓦的(de)(de)“蒸(zheng)(zheng)汽(qi)(qi)銷售”模式(shi)，通(tong)過 25 公里長的(de)(de)蒸(zheng)(zheng)汽(qi)(qi)收集和管道(dao)系(xi)統將鉆井中的(de)(de)蒸(zheng)(zheng)汽(qi)(qi)供應給(gei)發電廠(chang)。截至 2023 年，GDC 已鉆探了 53 口井，潛力為 169 兆(zhao)瓦。
然而(er)，該發電(dian)廠的(de)成功(gong)也歸功(gong)于中(zhong)國開(kai)(kai)山集團(tuan)推出的(de)獨特的(de)新型地熱開(kai)(kai)發工藝。開(kai)(kai)山集團(tuan)總經(jing)理湯炎博士(shi)回(hui)憶說(shuo)，他在 2015 年澳(ao)大利(li)亞墨爾(er)本(ben)舉行的(de)地熱會議上意識(shi)到需要進(jin)行重大轉(zhuan)變，當時專(zhuan)家們討論(lun)了傳統方法的(de)缺(que)陷。“我說(shuo)，‘你為什么不在井(jing)口建一個發電(dian)廠，分(fen)階段(duan)進(jin)行呢？’”他回(hui)憶道。
克服(fu)傳統挑戰
雖(sui)然該方法從(cong)一開(kai)(kai)始就提(ti)出支持增量發(fa)電，同時提(ti)供收入以支持未來(lai)的項目擴展，但湯炎博士了解(jie)到，沒有支持該方法的技術(shu)可供商業使(shi)用。開(kai)(kai)山當時已(yi)經開(kai)(kai)始從(cong)一家(jia)總(zong)部位于(yu)上(shang)海(hai)的大型(xing)空氣壓縮機制造商轉型(xing)為一家(jia)多元化的全球性公司(si)，并立即采(cai)取行動，利用其 2012 年(nian)開(kai)(kai)發(fa)的有機朗肯循環 (ORC) 膨(peng)脹機和螺桿蒸汽(qi)膨脹機技術(shu)。
湯炎博士告訴《POWER》雜志，這(zhe)些(xie)技術最(zui)初(chu)是為回(hui)收煉油廠(chang)(chang)和鋼(gang)廠(chang)(chang)的廢熱而開(kai)(kai)發(fa)的，它(ta)使(shi)開(kai)(kai)山公(gong)司能(neng)夠通過最(zui)大(da)限度地(di)提(ti)高不(bu)(bu)同(tong)(tong)井況(kuang)下的能(neng)量輸出、減少低效率，以及(ji)開(kai)(kai)發(fa)四種(zhong)類型的分散式模塊(kuai)化發(fa)電廠(chang)(chang)來優化地(di)熱發(fa)電，這(zhe)些(xie)發(fa)電廠(chang)(chang)部(bu)署速度更快，更能(neng)適應不(bu)(bu)同(tong)(tong)的地(di)熱田。 “這些(xie)模(mo)塊(kuai)(kuai)化(hua)發電(dian)廠包括蒸汽(qi)螺桿膨脹機模(mo)塊(kuai)(kuai)化(hua)發電(dian)廠、蒸汽(qi) ORC 模(mo)塊(kuai)(kuai)化(hua)發電(dian)廠、鹽(yan)水(shui) ORC 模(mo)塊(kuai)(kuai)化(hua)發電(dian)廠以(yi)及蒸汽(qi)和鹽(yan)水(shui)雙資源(yuan)模(mo)塊(kuai)(kuai)化(hua)發電(dian)廠，”他解釋(shi)說。
蒸汽螺桿膨脹(zhang)機(ji)專(zhuan)門設計用于(yu)處理地熱井(jing)(jing)中常見的濕蒸汽或(huo)飽(bao)和(he)蒸汽，可(ke)有(you)效從各種井(jing)(jing)況中提(ti)取(qu)能(neng)量(liang)，包括可(ke)能(neng)不適合傳(chuan)統渦輪機(ji)的不凝性氣(qi)體 (NCG)含量(liang)高的井(jing)(jing)。與此同時，ORC 系統擅長將(jiang)低溫蒸汽和(he)鹽(yan)水(shui)（否(fou)則這些副(fu)產(chan)品將(jiang)被浪費(fei)）轉化為額外的電能(neng)，湯炎博士說(shuo)。
此外，開山的(de)模(mo)塊化電(dian)廠(chang)可用于(yu)形(xing)成混合循環或(huo)熱力系(xi)統(tong)，以滿足任何生產井條件，最大限度地提(ti)高(gao)其發電(dian)量(liang)，并消除低壓 (WHP) 浪(lang)費井或(huo)閑置井。他(ta)說，由于(yu)這些(xie)技術可以適應不同項目地點的(de)特定(ding)地熱資源條件，因(yin)此可以量(liang)身定(ding)制以提(ti)供卓(zhuo)越(yue)的(de)效(xiao)(xiao)率。他(ta)說：“我們可以將中(zhong)焓井的(de)熱效(xiao)(xiao)率提(ti)高(gao)到 18% 和 19%。”他(ta)指(zhi)出，相(xiang)比之下(xia)，僅(jin)使用單次閃(shan)蒸蒸汽的(de)傳統(tong)集(ji)中(zhong)式(shi)發電(dian)廠(chang)的(de)熱效(xiao)(xiao)率僅(jin)為 8% 至 12%。
35 MWe 的 Sosian Menengai 地(di)熱發電廠(chang)于 2023 年 8 月(yue)投入(ru)使(shi)(shi)用。該電廠(chang)使(shi)(shi)用兩臺開(kai)山地(di)熱蒸(zheng)汽反(fan)壓(ya)螺桿膨(peng)脹(zhang)機(ji)，將廢氣排放(fang)到三個(ge)有機(ji)朗(lang)肯循環裝置中。圖(tu)片來(lai)源：開(kai)山集團
新地熱(re)發(fa)電的(de)競爭(zheng)優勢
開(kai)山迅速將這項(xiang)小眾技術拓展為一項(xiang)利潤(run)豐厚的業務(wu)。自(zi)2018 年在印(yin)度尼(ni)西亞投產 240 兆瓦 Sorik Marapi 地熱項(xiang)目(mu)四期工(gong)程中的第一期以(yi)來，該公(gong)司已在印(yin)度尼(ni)西亞建造了 10 兆瓦的 Sokoria 地熱項(xiang)目(mu)，此外還在土耳(er)其、美國和(he)匈牙利開(kai)展了項(xiang)目(mu)。Sosian是開山在肯尼亞(ya)的第一個地熱項目，公(gong)司擔任工(gong)程、采購和(he)施工(gong) (EPC) 承(cheng)包商。
湯炎博士(shi)表示，開山電廠(chang)具有成本效益的(de)價(jia)(jia)格(ge)點是其(qi)關鍵的(de)選(xuan)擇優勢。開山電廠(chang)的(de) EPC 合同(tong)價(jia)(jia)值 6500 萬美元，而(er)該(gai)地區三個同(tong)等規模的(de) IPP 項目之一 Menengai II 最近(jin)獲得的(de) EPC 合同(tong)價(jia)(jia)值 1.08 億美元。湯炎博士(shi)解釋說(shuo)，價(jia)(jia)格(ge)差異(yi)的(de)根源(yuan)在于技術選(xuan)擇。雖然(ran) Sosian 的(de) 35 兆瓦項目設計(ji)為集中式(shi)發電廠(chang)，但它由兩個蒸汽螺(luo)桿膨脹機(ji)和三個濕蒸汽 ORC 模塊化發電廠(chang)提供(gong)動力(li)。
然而，GDC 的蒸(zheng)汽含(han)有 3.3% 的 NCG，這是一個“巨大(da)的百分比”，他說。如果 Sosian 使用傳統(tong)的蒸(zheng)汽輪機，他們(men)需要將蒸(zheng)汽膨脹至 6 bar 絕對壓力，然后每小(xiao)時消耗(hao)超(chao)過 30 噸的蒸(zheng)汽(qi)(qi)，使(shi)用蒸(zheng)汽(qi)(qi)噴射(she)器和(he)真(zhen)空泵去除(chu) NCG。相反，Sosian 使(shi)用蒸(zheng)汽(qi)(qi)螺桿(gan)膨脹機(ji)和(he)底部循環來處理飽和(he)蒸(zheng)汽(qi)(qi)排放(fang)，在整個過程中將蒸(zheng)汽(qi)(qi)降低到大(da)氣水平，同時消除(chu)真(zhen)空系統通常消耗(hao)的寄生功率。
“與傳統蒸汽輪機相比，整體效(xiao)率對于該(gai)站點來說(shuo)是一個巨大(da)的改變，”湯炎博士說(shuo)道。“該(gai)項目只需要保證 33.25 兆瓦(wa)(wa)，目標是 35 兆瓦(wa)(wa)，但我們實際上(shang)發電(dian)量為 37 兆瓦(wa)(wa)。”同時(shi)，該項目不需要額外購(gou)買10%的(de)蒸(zheng)汽用于蒸(zheng)汽噴(pen)射器，從而減輕(qing)了GDC的(de)負擔，他說。
閑置地熱井的解(jie)決方案
湯炎博士表示，該系統的模(mo)塊(kuai)化設(she)計也(ye)有利于(yu)加快(kuai)施工(gong)速(su)度，更重(zhong)要的是，有助于(yu)克(ke)服新冠疫情帶(dai)來的供應鏈和項目管理挑(tiao)戰(zhan)。他(ta)(ta)說(shuo)，開山(shan)通常(chang)會在六到(dao)九個月的時間內組(zu)裝模(mo)塊(kuai)并在工(gong)廠(chang)環境中(zhong)進行組(zu)件測試。“然(ran)后，當我們運送到(dao)現場時，通常(chang)只需很(hen)短的時間即(ji)可將它們組(zu)裝在一起(qi)，并且(qie)您(nin)無(wu)需對電源模(mo)塊(kuai)進行任何(he)焊接，”他(ta)(ta)補充(chong)道。“有時，質量(liang)控制可能是一個挑(tiao)戰(zhan)，”他(ta)(ta)指出。
他還說，Sosian Menegai 項(xiang)目的(de)成功(gong)迄今已(yi)引起人們(men)(men)對(dui)肯尼(ni)亞地熱(re)產(chan)業的(de)極大興趣(qu)。一個關鍵原因是(shi)肯尼(ni)亞有(you)很(hen)(hen)多井(jing)(jing)(jing)，估計其(qi)中 25% 到 30% 的(de)井(jing)(jing)(jing)可能(neng)沒(mei)有(you)蒸(zheng)汽(qi)(qi)收集(ji)(ji)系(xi)統(tong)，而蒸(zheng)汽(qi)(qi)收集(ji)(ji)系(xi)統(tong)是(shi)集(ji)(ji)中式蒸(zheng)汽(qi)(qi)渦輪(lun)機所必需的(de)。“他們(men)(men)稱這些井(jing)(jing)(jing)為閑(xian)置井(jing)(jing)(jing)或廢棄井(jing)(jing)(jing)，它們(men)(men)就放在那里，什么也不做”，即使(shi)鉆探這些井(jing)(jing)(jing)的(de)成本很(hen)(hen)高，“但(dan)我們(men)(men)的(de)技術沒(mei)有(you)這種限制，因為我們(men)(men)可以使(shi)用(yong)任(ren)何(he)良好的(de)壓力，無論它們(men)(men)是(shi)產(chan)生鹽水還是(shi)蒸(zheng)汽(qi)(qi)。”
— Sonal Patel 是(shi) POWER 的高級編輯（@sonalcpatel, @POWERmagazine）