For the first time in history, Net Power has succeeded in delivering emission-free electricity to the grid from a Texas natural gas plant .
The announcement came yesterday from the clean energy company Net Power LLC, which marks a new chapter in the global battle against climate change.
Net Power’s test project in La Porte, Texas, has delivered enough power for over 1,000 homes in the course of a first-time grid synchronization, which the company itself has dubbed a major milestone for the entire industry as a whole.
And it is.
For the first time ever, someone has managed to provide electricity to the grid that is both low-cost and has zero CO2 emissions.
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For the purpose, the Texas plant has used Net Power’s proprietary technology, which, in turn, relies on burning natural gas together with pure oxygen instead of just regular air.
Furthermore, the technology uses highly critical CO2 instead of steam to generate power.
The majority of the resulting carbon emissions are then recycled by Net Power’s four-step cycled. But part of the excess CO2 is captured and stored deep underground in geologic formations or is prepared to be used in industrial processes.
However, a spokesperson for the company did point out that the La Porte plant is only operating as a testing facility. With that said, it cannot be expected to operate as a commercial power plant in the long-term.
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There are still many technical and financial questions about the facility that have yet to be resolved.
And their potential resolution will be an extremely significant indicator of the potential for natural gas to be a carbon-free fuel in the future.
So far, this is the only carbon capture project operating on a natural gas-fired power plant in the United States.
