HAYWARD, Calif. & ENID, Okla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Alphabet Energy, the global leader in thermoelectrics for waste heat to power (WHP), and Coyote North, a combustion technology expert and service provider, today announced the availability of the Power Generating Combustor (PGC™). Designed for Quad O compliance, the PGC™ is an integrated combustor and solid-state power generator that converts exhaust heat from enclosed flares into electrical power. By generating a new source of electrical power from enclosed flares, the PGC™ eliminates the need for diesel- and natural gas-powered generators and electrical grid connections at well pads, reducing costs of fuel, rental and maintenance, and eliminating emissions. The two companies are working together to jointly develop and distribute the new product.

The PGC™ is a direct result of feedback from Alphabet Energy’s and Coyote North’s oil & gas customers who wrestle with the challenge of getting reliable electricity to their remote sites to optimize production and ensure safety. After the deployment of Alphabet Energy’s first product for oil & gas, the E1™, midstream customers saw its immediate value in generating reliable, remote electricity from waste heat as a means to reduce OPEX and emissions. Asking for a way to extend this value to enclosed flares, Alphabet Energy and Coyote North joined efforts to design the PGC™, using Alphabet Energy’s proprietary PowerModules™. Coyote North will manufacture the PGC™ at its facility in Enid, Oklahoma and distribute the product to oil & gas producers and midstream operators through its existing channels. The two partners are currently executing a PGC™ installment at a customer’s well pad in Ohio’s Utica Shale region.

Improves OPEX; Ensures Safety

There are thousands of enclosed flares burning in the United States, all producing massive amounts of exhaust heat that could be recovered and converted into valuable electricity. The PGC™ is a two-part system that includes an enclosed flare, and a cap-like-designed thermoelectric generator, which attaches to the top of the enclosed flare. The underlying enclosed flare delivers high-temperature exhaust heat (across a range of fuel inputs and combustion temperatures) to Alphabet Energy’s PowerModules™ (each containing heat exchangers and Alphabet Energy’s proprietary thermoelectric material). The PGC™ converts the exhaust heat into electrical power, while still meeting on-site combustion requirements.

This currently offered PGC™ version will generate 2.5 kW of electricity, which is enough for well pad operators to optimize production and ensure site safety by running a variety of site electronics (e.g., process equipment and SCADA). For customers with larger onsite power requirements, a follow-on version of the PGC™, with increased power output, will be available in the future.

“Our customers tell us their flares are burning money,” said Mothusi Pahl, vice president of marketing and head of business development, oil & gas, Alphabet Energy. “By converting an enclosed flare’s exhaust heat into electricity, a well pad operator offsets thousands of dollars per month that would have been spent on generator fuel, rental and maintenance costs, all while ensuring site safety and reliability.”

Reduces Emissions

While the oil & gas industry explores ways to cut costs during a time of intense price volatility, it’s also under increasing pressure to meet stricter emissions standards after the implementation of US EPA Quad O Rules and the subsequent March 2016 announcement by the US and Canada to cut methane emissions from oil and gas by 45% below 2012 levels by 2025. Using the PGC™, well pad operators will immediately eliminate emissions that would have been produced by the diesel- and natural gas-powered generators that will be displaced by the cleaner electricity generated by the PGC™.

Coyote North Ltd., a combustion technology expert and service provider with operations in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada and Enid, Oklahoma, sees great potential for the PGC™. “At Coyote North, we scour the industry to make sure we’re seeing the best innovations and how they can be applied to advance combustor technologies,” said Brent Willey, president and owner, Coyote North. “Optimizing assets in the field to increase operational efficiency and reduce emissions is a huge win for our customers, and the PGC™ can do this time and time again for enclosed flares across the global oil & gas industry.”

By offsetting diesel- and natural gas-powered generators, the PGC™ has the potential to eliminate approximately 50 US tons of CO2; 1000 lbs. of NOx + NMHC; 900 lbs. of CO per flare, per year in the United States. If added to 60,000 enclosed flares in the US, the PGC™ could help eliminate approximately 3 million US tons of CO2; 30,000 US tons of NOx + NMHC; and 27,000 US tons of CO annually.

Pricing for the PGC™ is available upon request. For more information or to place an order, please visit the Alphabet Energy website, or come find us at one of the following conferences:

• Gas Processors Association (GPA) Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana – Alphabet Energy’s Mothusi Pahl will speak on Wednesday April 13 at 10:15 a.m. EDT; and
• ShaleTech, Calgary, Alberta – Alphabet Energy’s Mothusi Pahl will speak on Wednesday, April 20 at 10:30 a.m. MDT.

About Alphabet Energy

Alphabet Energy makes waste heat valuable. Leveraging nanotechnology research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Michigan State University, and with over 60 patents issued and filed, the company’s proprietary PowerBlocks™ thermoelectric material turns waste heat from exhaust into electricity and serves as the technology platform for the company’s line of waste heat recovery products. Customers in energy-intensive industries from oil & gas, mining, manufacturing, transportation, to defense use Alphabet Energy’s products to generate reliable remote power while also reducing fuel consumption, operating costs and carbon emissions. Learn more at www.alphabetenergy.com or on social media:

About Coyote North

Coyote North is breaking the Status Quo within our Industry. Working closely with our clients and associates we specialize in the development and construction of high efficiency waste gas incinerators, and combustors. Utilizing innovations born from decades of combined experience has allowed our natural draft combustors and incinerators to achieve a 99+ destruction rate and low NOx, all without the use of expensive and complicated forced air mechanisms. In a time when our customers are trying to get the most out of every dollar we have always provided top quality combustion solutions, innovative technology, and expertise to the Oil and Gas Industry worldwide. To find out more please visit us at www.coyotenorth.ca.