Kanin Energy announced the development of a 7 MW waste heat-to-power facility at Phillips 66’s Mewbourn natural gas processing complex, located in Platteville, Colorado.
The initiative seeks to transform thermal energy that is currently wasted into industrial-use electricity, strengthening operational efficiency and reducing emissions associated with the facility’s energy consumption.
The project is part of the growing adoption of energy recovery technologies within the oil and gas industry, where waste heat recovery has become an alternative to improve the environmental performance of operations without affecting production.
Waste heat recovery to generate baseload power
The new plant will use waste heat generated by the gas compression turbines at the Mewbourn complex to produce electricity for the facility’s internal consumption. Through Waste Heat to Power (WHP) systems, thermal energy that would normally dissipate into the environment will be converted into reliable, low-emission electrical energy.
This type of technology allows for an increase in the overall energy efficiency of industrial facilities by taking advantage of already available thermal sources, simultaneously reducing the demand for grid electricity and associated operating costs.
According to the announced plans, construction of the project will begin later this year and is expected to contribute to the plant’s long-term energy resilience.
Energy model with no upfront investment for Phillips 66
As part of the agreement, Kanin Energy will develop, own, and operate the waste heat recovery facility. This model allows Phillips 66 to access the benefits of the technology without making direct capital investments for the construction and commissioning of the system.
The strategy responds to a growing trend in the industrial sector, where specialized companies assume the financing, development, and operation of energy assets to accelerate the implementation of efficiency and decarbonization projects.
According to Kanin Energy, this approach facilitates industrial operators in capturing economic value from underutilized energy resources while reducing their environmental footprint.
Technology to optimize industrial operations
Janice Tran, CEO of Kanin Energy, highlighted that the collaboration with Phillips 66 represents an example of how innovation can generate additional value from existing operations. The executive noted that one of the company’s central objectives is to help the industry reduce energy costs and improve the utilization of its thermal resources.
For her part, Michelle Hilger, Vice President of Technical Services and Innovation at Phillips 66, indicated that the project is part of the company’s strategy to incorporate technologies that support safe, reliable, and sustainable operations.
Growing interest in WHP systems in the energy sector
Waste heat recovery systems are gaining prominence in gas processing facilities, refineries, and petrochemical complexes due to their ability to generate baseload power without requiring additional fuel.
In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, these technologies allow for improved operational competitiveness by utilizing energy that was previously unused.
With the Colorado project, Kanin Energy expands its portfolio of industrial energy assets and reinforces the presence of WHP solutions as a tool to increase energy efficiency and support the sustainability goals of the North American energy industry.
Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/
Photo: Shutterstock
