Northern Power, a subsidiary of Distributed Energy Systems, has landed a $1.8 million follow-on contract by the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline Company for a stand-alone power system at an emergency drain-down facility along the BTC export oil pipeline in Kodiana, Georgia. The project is the third between Northern Power and BTC, and will be the 39th Northern Power system on the pipeline.

The Kodiana emergency drain-down facility is located in a valley in the Republic of Georgia, where the continents of Europe and Asia meet. In the event of a rupture in the pipeline at any point between the two peaks that flank the valley, Northern Power’s system is designed to power a pumping system to channel oil flowing through the pipeline into a specially designed underground holding tank. The power system will also ensure a power source for additional pumps in the underground tank to pump oil back into the pipeline after a rupture is repaired.

“The emergency drain-down system was mandated by the government of Georgia to protect the environment,” stated Michael Brennan, vice president at Northern Power. “The power system we have designed will play a critical role in meeting the safety and environmental requirements of this site on the pipeline.”

The power system will be monitored and controlled by a microprocessor-based controller designed around programmable logic control technology. In the last four years, Northern Power has provided a total of 38 power systems on the 690-kilometer portion of the pipeline that stretches from Baku, Azerbaijan through the Republic of Georgia.