Methane gas in Fort Knox, CAT +, is heat and electric energy

Fort Knox in the north of Kentucky is the location of the United States federal government to store gold since 1936. According to the latest data from the US Treasury Department, as the largest gold reserve area of the US government, the vault has stored about 147 million ounces of gold in the underground, which is worth about 175 billion dollars.

But gold is not the only treasure under Fort Knox. There are trillions of cubic feet of methane gas, enough to support Knox and its 400 bed hospitals for more than 30 years of all electricity demand. The biogas is tightly locked in the surrounding rock of underground, no use for a long time, release and use of these methane gas is even greater than take the gold from the vault as strong as iron.

With the widespread use of hydraulic fracturing, Knox's officials realized that they could get this clean and cheap natural fuel resource right away.

Today, the gas is transported to thousands of families and factories in Fort Knox through pressure. In addition, five new power plants, Cat (Carter) G3520C gas generator driven by natural gas, provide the main power supply to Knox, and provide heating and cooling treatment for some local buildings by cogeneration.

In the center of the Fort Knox system, equipped with Cat gas and diesel generator production in Indiana Caterpillar Lafayette factory and distribution equipment in Georgia Alpharetta production, stable operation center also cannot do without the service of Cat and local agents Whayne Cat support.

Caterpillar power systems division in charge of North American natural gas project manager Paul Zink said, "the first Fort Knox project contractors not invited Caterpillar to participate, but invited some of our peer companies, a third party distribution device manufacturer and another third party emission solutions provider.

But they found this way of offering solutions by different companies seemed too fragmentary, so they stopped the project and invited us. We helped them understand that the project didn't need to be complex, and it didn't need four different companies to complete together, because such a project can provide solutions from beginning to end. A team. A solution. So they finally decided to work with Cat and Whayne Cat.

Today, these Cat engines run 8000 hours a year, providing the main power supply for Fort Knox and providing backup energy for the whole area.

"If customers need long-term partners to provide solutions and unmatched localization support, Caterpillar is the right choice," says Zink. The Fort Knox project is one of the best proof. "