"Geo-Pressure" in gas pipelines to power London  

Cleantech.com has an article on an unusual energy source being harnessed by a UK startup called 2OC which is working with the National Grid to generate 20 MW using wasted pressure in natural gas pipelines - Pressure in gas pipelines to power London.

Bath, England-based startup 2OC unveiled its plan today to generate electricity for London by 2010 using wasted pressure in the natural gas pipeline grid.

2OC is working with the UK National Grid on a joint venture called Blue-NG to use turbines to take advantage of the enormous pressure released when sourcing natural gas underground before it can be pumped through pipelines. 2OC proposes that 20-centimeter devices called turbo expanders can generate energy from that pressure, and is planning to install its first turbine later this year in east London to generate 20 megawatts of power by 2010.

The method—dubbed geo-pressure—is expected to be used at eight sites during the next couple years, the company said.

2OC launched in 2005 with the goal of generating 1 gigawatt of power for the UK using geo-pressure.

Similar technology has been tested in the U.S. and Europe but has been too costly to be implemented. Blue-NG plans to add a combined heat and power engine to the device to generate heat and electricity, improving efficiency to more than 70 percent. The engine could run on a variety of fuels.

2OC also says the technology could potentially provide data centers, power plants, air conditioners or refrigerators with a cheap source of cold air because the temperature of natural gas drops along with pressure.