{"id":47182,"date":"2021-04-19T12:47:01","date_gmt":"2021-04-19T18:47:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/southern-ute-reservation-could-get-a-zero-emission-power-plant\/"},"modified":"2021-04-19T18:47:01","modified_gmt":"2021-04-19T18:47:01","slug":"southern-ute-reservation-could-get-a-zero-emission-power-plant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/southern-ute-reservation-could-get-a-zero-emission-power-plant\/","title":{"rendered":"Southern Ute reservation could get a zero-emission power plant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"NET
NET Power\u2019s test power plant in La Porte, Texas, captures the carbon dioxide it produces before it enters the atmosphere. The company is now moving to construct four commercial plants. One of them is planned for the Southern Ute Reservation in Southwest Colorado.<\/span>Courtesy of 8 River\u2019s Capitol<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Outside Houston is a zero-emissions power plant that runs on fossil fuels invented to keep burning natural gas without contributing to climate change.<\/p>\n

Since 2018, the company NET Power has used the site to test a technology that keeps the plant\u2019s carbon dioxide byproduct out of the atmosphere. The semi-closed loop system reuses some of the CO2 to help power the plant. The rest of the greenhouse gas is captured to be stored underground so it can\u2019t enter the atmosphere or be sold to industries that use CO2 \u2013 like soda companies carbonating drinks.<\/p>\n

The technology, developed by 8 Rivers Capital, made it on MIT\u2019s 2018 list of 10 technological breakthroughs. The company says the pilot was successful and it\u2019s now moving to construct four commercial plants. One of them is planned for the Southern Ute Reservation in Southwest Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough the tribe has a rich and successful history as an energy producer in Indian Country, we have always prioritized the protection of our natural resources. This project further exemplifies our environmental stewardship,\u201d wrote Southern Ute Vice Chairman Bruce Valdez in a statement.<\/p>\n

A final decision about whether the plant will be built will be made in 2022, and production on the Coyote Clean Power Project could begin by 2025. The plant would operate without needing additional water and the company claims it eliminates all emissions, including air pollution.<\/p>\n

\u201cDevelopment of one of the world\u2019s first zero-emission and water neutral power plants will lead to economic development and job growth while accelerating our transition to 100% clean electricity,\u201d wrote Gov. Jared Polis in a statement. \u201cWe are thrilled about this partnership between the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and 8 Rivers Capital, as our region continues to lead in the clean energy transition, and my administration stands ready to support next steps in the Coyote Clean Power Project.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some view the technology as a game-changer, there\u2019s still the problem of what to do with the plant\u2019s captured carbon. It would need to be stored so it can\u2019t enter the atmosphere, which the company claims can be done \u201ccheaply.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an email, 8 Rivers representative Adam Goff wrote that the operators are evaluating different options for its CO2, which could be injected deep underground for permanent storage. Goff wrote that the plan for the Colorado facility is to store all of the CO2 produced, but they\u2019re not ruling out other uses for the gas like selling it for carbonating soda.<\/p>\n

As reported by Bloomberg, environmentalists are concerned about the continued use of natural gas. And while the plant might not release any emissions, the production and transportation of fossil fuels needed to power the plant would.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Nichols, climate and energy program director with the environmental advocacy group WildEarth Guardians, wrote in an email that he\u2019s \u201cincredibly skeptical\u201d that the project will ever be built because of the costs and \u201cthe commercially unproven nature of carbon capture and sequestration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI say more power to the Southern Ute Tribe. It\u2019s certainly not our place to second guess what they view to be a good investment,\u201d Nichols wrote. \u201cIf the Southern Ute Tribe wants to stay locked into dependence on oil and gas, that\u2019s their right. Even if it costs them opportunities to develop more viable and affordable means of energy production, that\u2019s their prerogative.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more news from Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

some CO2, captures the rest for other uses<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1098,1427,875,28,29,629],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-47182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-energy","tag-energy-general","tag-energy-and-resource","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter","tag-southern-ute-indian-tribe"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47182"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=47182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}