The technology company disrupting the clean energy space, NET Power announced a major development as it works towards its goal of scaling its natural gas plants, generating no greenhouse gas emissions. NET Power has selected Zachry Group, a leader in engineering and construction services, to provide Front-End Engineering Design (FEED), followed by Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) services for the construction of the company’s initial utility-scale power plant.
NET Power completed the first successful ignition of the first CO2-powered turbine in the world’s first net zero natural gas power plant. Back in February, CEO Ron DeGregorio revealed in an interview for Carbon Herald that the company is looking to develop a commercial scale system as the technology has already been proven and demonstrated. That facility will be the world’s first large-scale gas-fired power plant with near-zero emissions.
Zachry Group is also the first EPC Partner licensed by NET Power. The company will build upon NET Power’s prior plant design at its La Porte demonstration facility. The FEED work is already underway in Zachry’s Houston Engineering office and should be completed in 2024.
The engineering, procurement, and construction are expected to start shortly after, and the plant should come online in 2026. Thanks to NET Power’s standard modularized utility-scale design approach, capital costs are expected to go down for subsequent plants which will enable more of them to be built each year.
“We are very excited to announce Zachry as our strategic partner, engaging with us to complete the FEED for our Serial Number One utility-scale commercial NET Power system. This system, with support from another strategic partner OXY, will be built in Texas and will be operational in 2026,” said CEO Ron DeGregorio in a comment for Carbon Herald.
He also highlighted that Zachry’s EPC experience complements the NET Power and Baker Hughes team as they finalize the standard design while also preparing for modularized constructability. “Global interest continues to grow and these attributes will ensure for rapid deployment,” added Mr DeGregorio.
This milestone also coincides with NET Power’s planned merger with RICE Acq Corp II (NYSE: RONI) which is expected to close this quarter.
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“We are proud to have Zachry Group on board for this historic project that will transform natural gas into low-carbon power. Zachry has extensive experience in designing and constructing large-scale power and process plants… their FEED and EPC work for our first utility-scale plant will establish the standard for future NET Power plants,” also comments Brian Allen, President and COO of NET Power.
According to Mr DeGregorio, the company is looking to ramp up deployment of 30 utility-scale 300 MW plants a year by around 2030. Once the first serial number one plant gets online in 2026 and runs for a year or two reliably, the company believes demand will start flooding in. Net Power will use intellectual property licensing to satisfy the market demand.
NET Power provides near-zero emissions energy generation plants utilizing natural gas, that succeed in delivering the energy trifecta—clean, reliable, and low-cost energy. There are no other energy-producing technologies deployed on a large scale that currently succeed in providing on-demand and clean electricity, therefore NET Power’s offering represents an exciting and promising solution to the climate crisis.
