PureCycle’s only byproduct is electricity, and its fuel geothermal hot water is a renewable resource. The PureCycle unit can operate with water at temperatures as low as 195 degrees Fahrenheit to generate electrical power around the clock.
Klamath Falls, where the OIT is located, has extensive geothermal resources and has been heated with geothermal energy since the early 1960s. The PureCycle power system will tap geothermal water supplied from existing wells now used to heat the campus. The addition of the PureCycle geothermal power system will move the campus closer to becoming a NetZero energy user and is the first step in OIT’s plan to develop a larger-scale plant.
We’ll be the first campus in the world to be 100 percent geothermally powered from a resource on its campus, said John Lund, director, geo-heat center at OIT. The school offers a degree in renewable energy engineering and will use the geothermal power plant as a teaching tool and hands-on laboratory for OIT students. “This is an important addition to our campus academic programs that will better prepare our students to perform in the real world,” Lund said.
