Texas-Based Company Helps University on Cyprus with Renewable Energy Needs

    BAY CITY, TX, June 02, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- One Texas-based company is helping a university on the other side of the Atlantic devise ways to cope with increasing demand for clean energy while taking advantage of something many people in Texas take for granted - the sun.

Gulf Coast Green Energy is working with Middle East Technical University Northern Cyprus Campus on a pilot project that generates "clean" electricity by running campus waste water through solar energy collectors, capturing the heat from that hot water and turning it into power with the ElectraTherm heat-to-power "Green Machine."

The Mediterranean island of Cyprus sees up to 340 days of sunlight each year, so the university's location provides an ideal setting for testing technologies that leverage the sun's energy to produce electricity that can then potentially power campus facilities. This project also demonstrates how treated waste water can be used for other applications without having to consume water from other sources. On Cyprus, this is crucial because the country faces an ongoing - and even growing - shortage in water supplies.

"We plan to scale up this promising project in the future and to collaborate with Solitem and Gulf Coast Green Energy to generate new knowledge and applications on renewable energy," said Tolga Torun of Middle East Technical University Northern Cyprus Campus. "We are excited to be part of the first group in our region that is researching the practicality of converting low-grade, small-scale solar thermal energy to electric power. We believe that this project will help create a technological infrastructure to this end."

The Green Machine generates power by capturing the heat from hot water generated in PTC1800 solar collection panels, which are produced by German renewable energy company and METUNCC research partner SOLITEM. The water collected by the solar array is pumped to the Green Machine to heat a fluid that - under pressure - moves ElectraTherm's twin screw expander to generate electricity.

The project utilizes a 300 kiloWatt (kW) back-up boiler to sustain the required hot water flow to the Green Machine in order to maintain a consistent power output. For this project, the Green Machine was downsized by 40 percent, so it runs at the nominal 18 kW. When the solar array is expanded, the machine can produce a power output of 50 kW.

"This has been a great opportunity for us to demonstrate how the Green Machine can provide another source of renewable energy, particularly in a region that is seeing increased pressure put on its natural and energy resources as its population swells," GCGE President and CEO Loy Sneary said. "We hope that the knowledge gained from this effort will lead to new applications for this exciting technology."

ElectraTherm's heat-to-power technology can convert various sources of low-temperature heat (internal combustion engine jacket water, biomass, etc.) into power. With 12 units in the field, ElectraTherm Green Machines have accrued more than 8,000 hours of fleet run time -- more than 12,000 hours, including test cell operations.

About Gulf Coast Green Energy
Bay City-based Gulf Coast Green Energy (GCGE) is committed to its customers, by adding to their bottom lines and providing the means for economical electrical generation. GCGE is also committed to providing equipment that is environmentally sound and takes great pride in providing an electrical generating technology that is part of the solution to the global environment by providing cost-efficient electricity that is emissions free. The company was the first to embrace the visionary technology offered by ElectraTherm, Inc. by becoming the exclusive Texas distributor of ElectraTherm's Waste Heat Generator technology. For more information on GCGE, visit www.gulfcoastgreenenergy.com.

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