The US Department of Energy (DOE) is developing the Petra Nova project in partnership with NRG Energy and JX Nippon.
The energy technology project is expected to capture around 1.4 million tons per annum of carbon dioxide (CO2) from an existing coal-fired power plant in Texas.
The captured CO2 will be utilized for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) at the West Ranch oilfield.
Petra Nova was originally conceived as a 60MW project, which received $167m in support from the DOE, but the sponsors quadrupled the size without additional federal funding and will capture emissions from 240MW after completion.
The project will capture 90% of the CO2 using a process earlier deployed in a DOE-sponsored three-year test in Alabama where it captured over 150,000 metric tons of CO2 a year from a coal power plant.
US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said: "As part of the President’s all-of-the-above approach to American energy, the Department is advancing the technologies that will help ensure we can continue to develop all of our abundant energy resources responsibly and sustainably.
"With coal expected to remain a significant part of the energy portfolio in the U.S. and internationally, first-of-a-kind projects like Petra Nova will move us toward a low-carbon energy future."
Image: The WA Parish plant showing the carbon capture facility that will be part of the world’s largest post-combustion carbon capture-enhanced Oil Recovery project. Photo: Courtesy of Business Wire.
