Clean Coal Technologies

Secretary of Energy Rick Perry Celebrates Operations at Petra Nova

Petra Nova, co-owned by NRG Energy and JX Nippon, officially began operations at the end of 2016.

By Editors of Power Engineering

Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Texas Governor Greg Abbott visited Petra Nova to help celebrate the operations of the $1 billion carbon capture and enhanced oil recovery system.

Petra Nova, co-owned by NRG Energy and JX Nippon, officially began operations at the end of 2016, and has delivered more than 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide to the West Ranch oil field. That CO2 is then injected into the oil reservoir to increase oil production from 300 barrels per day to 15,000 barrels per day.

The facility captures more than 90 percent of CO2 from a 240-MW-equivalent slipstream of flue gas off an existing coal-fired generation unit at the WA Parish power plant southwest of Houston. The plant can capture more than 5,000 tons of CO2 per day.

“I commend all those who contributed to this major achievement,” said Secretary Perry. “While the Petra Nova project will certainly benefit Texas, it also demonstrates that clean coal technologies can have a meaningful and positive impact on the Nation’s energy security and economic growth.”

“Everything is bigger in Texas so it is fitting that the largest post-combustion, carbon-capture facility in the world is right here in the Lone Star State,” said Governor Abbott. “Texas has become a global leader in innovation thanks to the pioneering spirits of companies like NRG and JX Nippon who are fueling the next generation of energy production through projects like Petra Nova.”