Can 'Clean Coal Technology' Be Cost-Effective for Natural Gas?
In this "All Things Considered" radio report, science correspondent Christopher Joyce visits the NET Power plant natural gas power plant, still under construction, and speaks with the chief executive officer, Bill Brown. "[W]e'll be the first technology that takes fossil fuels and cleans up the carbon at no extra cost," claimed Brown. [An audio version is accessible in the article].
Applying carbon capture technology to coal plants has a long track record of canceled and "on hold" projects, not just in the United States, but in Canada and Europe as well, according to the Carbon Capture and Sequestration Technologies program at MIT, which stopped compiling data last September. The Petra Nova project, also outside Houston, may be the exception. More on that later.
Private funding is backing the new technology that will power the 50-megawatt demonstration plant in La Porte, Texas.
The engineering firm CB&I, and power company Exelon are partners. So is Toshiba. Toshiba's contribution is the turbine.
Most turbines make electricity when you force high-pressure steam through them. But Brown's turbine doesn't use steam. The plant burns natural gas to make high-pressure carbon dioxide — and uses that CO2 to drive the turbine.
Support from environmental groups?
Some environmentalists are excited by the technology. "From our point of view, we're talking about climate protection," said George Peridas, an engineer at the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of several environmental advocacy groups that support carbon capture research. "From the standpoint of the fossil fuel producers, I think they are looking at the bottom line. They are looking at survival; they are looking at creating new jobs."
Competition from renewables?
Right now, renewable energy is growing faster than any other source of energy, said Jonathan Levy, an energy investment analyst at Vision Ridge Partners.
"With the cost of wind and solar where they are, and continuing to decline," he told me, "it's hard to see why you'd go all in on a big fossil project that is more expensive than the other technologies."The aforementioned Petra Nova project is included in a full-length feature article on CCS technology by Brad Plumer of Vox. Notwithstanding the miserable track record of most CCS plants, the technology "is garnering a surprising amount of support in Congress right now, with Democrats and Republicans working together to craft a pair of tax and finance bills that could help carbon capture spread more widely — not just for coal, but for gas plants, ethanol plants, steel plants, and other sources of pollution," writes Plumer.
Topics
- City Planning Technology, 2019 Benchmarking Study
- A Good Read for Planners and Peers: Why Old Places Matter
- Biking and Walking Have Lost Momentum
- No, Traffic Congestion Does Not Really Cost Every American $1,348 Annually
- Daniel Burnham: Appearing Soon on Television Screens
- Updated: What the Green New Deal Means for Planning
- A Case for Giving Midsized Metro Areas More Attention
- Amazon Calls the Whole New York Thing Off
- Gov. Gavin Newsom to Dramatically Downsize High-Speed Rail Project
- California's Commitment to Density Depends on Commitment to Common Destiny
- 14 Potential Locations for a New Bridge Across the Chesapeake Bay
- Making Historic Preservation a Local Concern
- More Fallout From Downsizing California High-Speed Rail
- Who Has Access to NYC Subways?
- Survey Examines the Changing Habits of the American Transit Rider
- New Report on San Francisco Transportation Trends: Driving on the Rise
- Deep Economic and Racial Injustice Found in California Pollution Exposure
- More Bad Polling News for Cordon Area Congestion Pricing in the U.S.
- Federal Subpoenas for Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation
- Plans for an 'Urban Town' in the Silicon Valley
