A first-of-its-kind natural-gas-fired power plant that will emit no greenhouse gases is now under construction near Houston, and its commercialization is being financed in part by engineering-procurement-construction contractor CB&I, with the hope CB&I will be the go-to builder for larger versions of the plant in the future.
CB&I broke ground on the 50-MW demonstration project in La Porte, Texas, on March 9 and is expected to complete the facility in 2017. The EPC contractor’s collaborators on the project are Exelon Generation, the independent power subsidiary of Exelon Corp.; NET Power, a Durham, N.C.-based company responsible for the commercialization of the project’s Allam Cycle technology; and 8 River Capital, which developed the technology.