Construction Begins on Emissions-Free Gas Plant

NET Power has broken ground on a 50-MW natural gas-powered plant in La Porte, Texas that the company says will produce low-cost electricity with zero atmospheric emissions.

A collaboration among Exelon Generation, CB&I and 8 Rivers Capital, NET Power will use the plant to demonstrate its Allam Cycle technology, which utilizes carbon dioxide as a working fluid to drive a combustion turbine, eliminates atmospheric emissions without requiring carbon-capture equipment and ultimately produces pipeline-quality CO2 that can be sequestered or used in various industrial processes, including enhanced oil recovery.

"NET Power is the first technology that allows policy and economics to work together, instead of against each other, to ensure the world meets our climate targets," says NET Power CEO Bill Brown.

The company's process uses an oxy-fuel, supercritical CO2 power cycle to produce electricity. The system burns natural gas with oxygen, as opposed to air, and uses high-pressure carbon dioxide, as opposed to steam like most power plants, to drive a turbine. For a small reduction in efficiency, the technology can operate without water.

The $140 million program—which includes demonstration plant design and construction, ongoing technology advancement, a full testing and operations program and commercial product development—is being funded by a combination of cash and in-kind contributions from Exelon and CB&I. Toshiba has developed and is now manufacturing a supercritical CO2 turbine and combustor for the project. CB&I is performing the engineering, procurement and construction of the plant. Exelon is providing operations, maintenance and development services. 8 Rivers invented and continues to advance the technology behind the project.

Upon completion, the plant will be a fully operational unit, generating power to the grid while demonstrating all key aspects of the Allam Cycle. Commissioning is expected to begin in late 2016 and be completed in 2017.

The plant will also provide the validation to begin constructing the first 295MWe, commercial-scale NET Power plants. NET Power is already engaged with customers across several industries on the design and development of these projects.