Ormat Technologies announced this week that waste heat from the Kern River Goodsprings Compressor station, a natural gas power plant, is now being turned into electricity.

Located 35 miles south of Las Vegas, the Goodsprings Energy Recovery Station is the first renewable energy project owned by NV Energy. The project is rated at 7.5 MW.  It was built in conjunction with Kern River Gas Transmission Company, a subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. and by Ormat Nevada, a subsidiary of Ormat Technologies, known primarily for its geothermal activities.

The project captures the heat from Kern River’s natural gas-fueled compressors, and then uses that heat to turn a separate generator to produce electricity. The project uses a dry-cooling system to minimize the need for water.

Ormat provided the project technology and served as the project’s engineering, procurement and construction contractor. During construction the project employed approximately 30 workers during peak construction activity.

According to GE Energy, who acquired waste heat technology company Calnetix Power Solutions in October, the waste heat recovery market is a $1 billion global space with high growth opportunities.”