Clean Energy Systems has developed game-changing technology that is revolutionizing the power industry by eliminating the traditional power plant stack and making zero-emission power plants a standard installation.

Based on proven rocket technology, the CES oxy-fuel combustor produces clean, high-energy drive gases for the generation of electrical power. The incorporation of oxy-fuel combustion technology into conventional power generation systems makes zero-emissions power plants (ZEPPs) based on fossil fuels practical today. 



ZEPPs have multiple advantages, including compact and lower cost equipment, greater cycle efficiencies with advanced turbines, complete carbon capture and sequestration of the carbon dioxide (CO2) effluent, and zero emissions (or ultra-low emissions when the exhaust is vented to the atmosphere as in a peaking power plant).

Lower power costs combined with improved plant efficiencies and zero atmospheric pollution used to be a dream. Now it's a reality. Clean Energy Systems has developed an oxy-fuel combustion technology that uses pure oxygen to combust natural gas or other fuels in a manner that produces clean power, commercial CO2, and clean water -- with zero emissions released to the atmosphere.

A key advantage of oxy-fuel combustion over air-based combustion is that higher turbine efficiencies are achieved. To utilize the higher temperature gas stream from the oxy-fuel generator, CES developed an entirely new generation of power turbines. Using these new power turbines, the CES process can result in a 20 percent increase in power production when compared to a conventional power plant utilizing the same quantity of fuel. Greater power production per unit of fuel results in lower costs and less dependency on global energy providers. 

As the United States and European nations implement greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction standards and more stringent NOx requirements, ZEPPs are becoming increasingly important. Current regulations in the State of California require an 80 percent reduction in GHG emissions from 1990 levels by 2050. An extensive study to determine the necessary technologies to achieve this level of reduction identified carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) power generation as critical technologies that must be realized if these reductions are to be achieved. Today, CES oxy-fuel power plants are capable of providing 100 percent CCS power generation at competitive power costs, making California GHG reductions readily achievable.

Currently, the main function of natural gas power generation is load balancing between the base load generation from nuclear and coal plants and the intermittent swings of the preferred wind/solar power plants. As federal and state governments emphasize renewable energy and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the role of natural gas as an intermittent power source will be at risk. According to a recent study published by the California Council on Science and Technology, "the use of natural gas (without CCS) to balance variability in electric generation units will eat up a significant fraction of the GHG target allocated to the energy sector if the 2050 goals are to be met."

ZELB power turbines provide the same operating flexibility as traditional power turbines but avoid the complications that non-ZELB power turbines will present as they become difficult to dispatch under stringent GHG/NOx emissions restrictions. Combining zero-emission load balancing (ZELB) natural gas power turbines with robust renewable energy resources will provide a reliable grid that is cost-effective for consumers.



ZELB facilities are similar to ZEPPs except that the CO2 generated by ZELB systems is sequestered in abandoned oil and gas reservoirs and in saline formations. In recent studies, the United States Department of Energy and others have identified extensive CO2 storage capacity in well-characterized, abandoned oil and gas reservoirs and saline formations across the U.S. These storage reservoirs can provide decades of storage capacity through the twenty-first century and beyond.