low temperature geothermal technology

Picked up a news article about a US company called GTherm that claims to be able to generate power from low temperature sources - they propose to use abandoned oil wells. According to this PDF they don't need water, rather they plug the well with a heat conducting grout. They use United Technologies Corporation technology for the generation (a number of US companies are using this now). Looks like it could be a very cheap way to generate power in a region where a lot of holes have already been drilled.


http://www.fourcrystal.com/gtherm_exec.pdf



(Pink Sheets: PCTU) announced today that it has made an investment in Gtherm,
Inc., a privately held alternative energy company incorporated in the State of
Nevada, whose primary business plan is to produce inexpensive electricity
through the use of its patent pending geothermal energy technology. Because
Gtherm's technology is not limited to deriving energy from hot water areas but
can also be used to derive energy from non-productive or abandoned oil and gas
wells, the Company believes it can be a major force in the rapidly expanding
market for alternative energy sources.
The Company can produce approximately one megawatt of constant electricity
from wells with at least 265 degrees of heat at the bottom of the well. The
proprietary process can bring the heat of deep wells to the surface and use
the heat to generate electricity. Geothermal energy is now the third largest
source of renewable energy in the United States.
The Company plans to use the technology on idle oil platforms to generate
large quantities of hydrogen which can be sold into the Alternate Fuel Vehicle
Market. This has the potential to positively affect the economics of both oil
and gas development, allowing depleted or newly drilled wells to become energy
generators.
Commenting on the announcement, Michael Parrella, Chairman and CEO of Four
Crystal Funding, Inc. said, "We believe that this geothermal breakthrough
maybe able to supply all of New York State's electrical needs by implementing
1,300 wells at a one time capital cost of $6.6 billion. Using a twenty year
amortization of the capital, the cost per kilowatt hour for New York would be
$.04." In addition, "Using off shore idle oil platforms we can generate
hydrogen with the equivalence of 54,000 gallons of gasoline per month per
well. Best of all the process is completely green."