Editing Petra Nova

[[Category:CCS Project]][[Category:Coal Power Generation]][[Category: MHI KM CDR]]
'''Petra Nova''' is a post-combustion carbon capture and storage (CCS) project attached to NRG’s W.A. Parish generating station in Texas, United States. The system captures CO<sub>2</sub> from a slipstream of [[Coal Power Generation|coal-fired flue gas]] (240 MW equivalent), compresses it, and transports it by pipeline for injection at the [[West Ranch Oil Field]] for [[enhanced oil recovery]] (EOR) with associated underground CO<sub>2</sub> storage.<ref>name="DOEProjectPage" /</ref><ref>name="EIA2017" </ref><ref>name="EIA2017" </ref> The project began commercial operation in January 2017, was suspended in May 2020 amid weak oil economics, and restarted in September 2023 under Japanese ownership (ENEOS group).<ref>name="EIA2017" </ref><ref> name="ReutersRestart2023" </ref><ref> name="JXNipponRestart2023"</ref>

== History ==
Development of the Petra Nova concept was reported to have begun in 2009, with construction starting in 2014 and completion targeted for late 2016.<ref name="Paulson2015">url=https://www.paulsoninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/CS-Petra-Nova-EN.pdf</ref><ref>name="MHI2014" </ref> The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supported the project under the Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI) Round 3, with DOE describing up to $190 million in total cost share across multiple awards/tranches.<ref>name="DOEProjectPage"</ref>

Petra Nova entered commercial operation in January 2017 and was, at the time, the world’s largest post-combustion carbon capture system applied to a coal-fired power plant slipstream.<ref> name="DOE2017CommOp" </ref><ref>name="EIA2017"</ref> In May 2020, the project was placed into reserve shutdown, with reporting attributing the decision primarily to weak oil prices during COVID-19 related demand collapse and the resulting deterioration of the CO<sub>2</sub>-EOR revenue model.<ref>name="ReutersRestart2023" </ref><ref name="ReutersProblems2020">url=https://www.reuters.com/article/business/environment/problems-plagued-us-co2-capture-project-before-shutdown-document-idUSKCN2523K7/</ref>

In September 2022, Reuters reported that Eneos Holdings (via its unit JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration) would acquire the remaining 50% stake from NRG Energy for $3.6 million, taking full ownership of the project entity.<ref name="ReutersDeal2022">url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/japans-eneos-buy-out-operator-us-co2-capture-project-petra-nova-2022-09-14/</ref> In September 2023, JX Nippon announced that the capture facility restarted operations on September 5, 2023.<ref name="JXNipponRestart2023" />

== CCS Project ==
=== Capture ===
The capture plant treats a slipstream of flue gas from W.A. Parish Unit 8 and is designed to capture about 90% of the CO<sub>2</sub> in that treated slipstream, corresponding to roughly one-third of Unit 8’s overall CO<sub>2</sub> emissions (because only a portion of the unit’s exhaust is routed to capture).<ref name="EIA2017" /><ref name="DOEProjectPage" /> Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) stated the ordered system had a capture capacity of 4,776 metric tons per day and 90% capture efficiency, using the [[MHI KM CDR|KM CDR Process]] with KS-1 solvent.<ref name="MHI2014" />

Because solvent regeneration is energy-intensive, Petra Nova incorporated a dedicated gas-fired cogeneration facility to supply steam and power to the capture process rather than drawing all energy parasitically from the host coal unit.<ref name="EIA2017" /><ref name="IEAGHG2020">url=https://publications.ieaghg.org/insightpapers/2020-IP11%20DOE%20report%20on%20Petra%20Nova.pdf</ref>

=== Transport ===
Captured CO<sub>2</sub> is dehydrated/compressed and transported via a dedicated pipeline to the West Ranch Oil Field on the Texas Gulf Coast. Public descriptions commonly report the pipeline length as approximately 81–82 miles (about 130 km).<ref name="PowerEng2017" /><ref name="NYSERDA" /><ref name="ReutersRestart2023" />

=== Storage ===
''Main Article: [[West Ranch Oil Field]]''

At West Ranch, the CO<sub>2</sub> is injected for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), with associated storage of CO<sub>2</sub> in the subsurface. The West Ranch Oil Field MRV reports injection depths of roughly '''XXX'''feet (about '''1,500'''XXX m). <ref>UPDATE</ref>

== Technology ==
Petra Nova uses an amine-based post-combustion capture process (MHI KM CDR Process), in which flue gas is cooled/conditioned and contacted with solvent in an absorber; CO<sub>2</sub>-rich solvent is then regenerated in a stripper/regenerator to produce a CO<sub>2</sub> product stream for compression and transport, while lean solvent is recycled.<ref name="EIA2017" /><ref name="MHI2014" />

MHI stated the ordered system included flue-gas pre-treatment (including desulfurisation), CO<sub>2</sub> absorption and regeneration, CO<sub>2</sub> compression, and utilities, reflecting the need to manage coal-flue-gas impurities for solvent-based capture.<ref name="MHIRecords" /><ref name="MHI2014" />

== Costs ==
Multiple public sources describe Petra Nova as a roughly US$1 billion project (overnight project cost for the CCS retrofit and associated facilities is often summarized at this level).<ref name="EIA2017" /><ref name="NYSERDA" /><ref name="Paulson2015" />

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Indicative public funding and financing (selected disclosures)
|!! Item !! Amount (nominal) !! Notes !! Sources
| DOE support (total cost share cited by DOE) || ~ || ~ || ~ ||
|-
|Equity contributions (reported in trade press) || ~ || ~ || ~ ||
|-
|Japanese financing (reported in trade press / Reuters) || ~ || ~ || ~ ||
|-
}

== Performance ==
DOE-oriented reporting on the project indicated that the capture facility could maintain the targeted capture rate (~4,700 tCO<sub>2</sub>/day) when operating at full output, but that achieving an annual 85% capacity factor was challenging for a first-of-a-kind (FOAK) system.<ref name="IEAGHG2020" /> Over the three-year demonstration period referenced in the DOE/IEAGHG summary, the capture facility reportedly captured 3.54 million tonnes of CO<sub>2</sub> (with multiple factors affecting uptime, including outages at the capture plant, host coal unit, cogeneration facility, pipeline constraints, and West Ranch’s ability to receive CO<sub>2</sub>).<ref name="IEAGHG2020" />

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Capacity Factor and Capture Fraction For the First Three Years of Operation
|-
! Parameter !! 2017 !! 2018 !! 2019
|-
| Capacity Factor || Example || Example || Example
|-
| Capture Fraction || Example || Example || Example
|}

Contemporaneous media reporting also highlighted reliability constraints. Reuters reported in 2020 (citing a technical report submitted to DOE) that the project experienced outages on 367 days since startup, including outages attributed to the capture facility and the dedicated natural gas power unit.<ref name="ReutersProblems2020" />

In February 2025, ENEOS Xplora stated that Petra Nova had “safely captured, transported and sequestered” more than five million metric tons of CO<sub>2</sub> cumulatively.<ref name="ENEOS2025" />

== Future Plans ==
Following the 2022 acquisition of NRG’s stake by Eneos/JX Nippon, Reuters reported that the transaction was intended to help the buyer gain expertise in CCUS technology, despite the prior suspension.<ref name="ReutersDeal2022" /> JX Nippon announced the restart of capture operations in September 2023, positioning the project as a large-scale CCUS facility and part of ENEOS group efforts toward carbon neutrality targets.<ref name="JXNipponRestart2023" /> Subsequent owner communications in 2025 emphasized continued operation and the use of Petra Nova’s operational track record to support broader CCS/CCUS business development.<ref name="ENEOS2025" />

== Reception ==
Petra Nova has been cited by proponents as a key demonstration of large-scale post-combustion capture on coal-fired flue gas, including DOE’s characterization of the facility as the world’s largest post-combustion carbon capture system at startup.<ref name="DOE2017CommOp" /> It has also been used in public policy and regulatory discourse as an example of power-sector CCS feasibility in the United States.<ref name="ReutersRestart2023" />

Criticism has focused on project economics, particularly reliance on CO<sub>2</sub>-EOR revenue and exposure to oil-price volatility. A public case study summarized the project’s vulnerability to fluctuating oil prices and noted the 2020 reserve shutdown amid the pandemic-era price collapse.<ref name="NYSERDA" /><ref name="ReutersRestart2023" /> An IEEFA report argued that Petra Nova captured less CO<sub>2</sub> than projected during its first three years of operation (reporting a shortfall of 662,000 metric tons between a target of '''XXX''' and an actual captured of '''XXX''') and presented the shutdown as an example of financial risk for similar coal-retrofit CCS concepts.<ref name="IEEFA2020">url=https://ieefa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Petra-Nova-Mothballing-Post-Mortem_August-2020.pdf</ref>. IEEFA has produced '''NO/OTHER''' further commentary since Petra Nova was restarted. 

== References ==
<references />