We provided multidisciplinary services to design, build, equip and commission this renewable energy facility.

The new Terra Gen 6.6-megawatt binary geothermal plant is located adjacent to the existing geothermal power generation facility, built in the mid-1980s. Benham, a Haskell Company, provided multidisciplinary Engineer, Procure, Construct (EPC) and Design-Build project delivery and commissioning services.

Using discharge from an existing power plant adds capacity at little cost.

The fuel source for the new facility is spent brine discharged from the existing facility. The spent brine has unused heating value, providing an opportunity to convert it to energy without increasing fuel (brine) costs. The heat supplied by the brine is sufficient to heat the refrigerant to the subcritical state for maximum efficiency. After much of the available heat energy has been transferred to the refrigerant, the brine is reinjected into the geothermal reservoir without altering its characteristics. This provides the customer a cost-effective opportunity to add capacity to the existing facility operations.

The power island for the new facility is a Turbine Air Systems (TAS) modular plant design that includes power generation skids and an air-cooled condenser array.

Our EPC capabilities helped the client secure funding and advance the project.

A major Benham contribution to the project was enabling the customer to proceed with project financing in a timely manner. During debt syndication for the project, the customer was notified that lenders would require that a financially strong, experienced third-party EPC contractor execute the work. At the customer’s request, Benham negotiated a lender-acceptable EPC contract within one week. The quick response and industry knowledge demonstrated by Benham allowed the project’s financial closing to proceed on schedule.