8 Rivers Capital and the Southern Ute Growth Fund Announce Joint Development of Zero Emissions NET Power Plant
DURHAM, N.C. and SOUTHERN UTE INDIAN RESERVATION, Colo., April 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — 8 Rivers Capital, LLC and The Southern Ute Indian Tribe Growth Fund (SUGF) have joined together to develop the Coyote Clean Power Project, locating one of the world’s first zero-emissions NET Power natural gas-fired power plants within the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. The Coyote Clean Power Project will represent a paradigm shift in how the world generates energy, producing 280 MW of clean power 24/7, while capturing and storing CO2. 8 Rivers, through its Zero Degrees development business, and the SUGF plan to design and construct a NET Power plant over the next five years.
The Tribe’s participation continues their long history of leadership in environmental stewardship and the energy transition, including the development and operation of a facility for a decade that captured naturally venting fugitive methane, one of the first utility scale solar projects in Southwest Colorado, and other alternative energy projects including biofuels. The Coyote Clean Power Project will be fueled with natural gas while capturing all emissions associated with combusting gas.
The underlying NET Power technology is a game-changing advance for global decarbonization. It produces no air pollution, can operate water neutral, and features the flexibility required to seamlessly pair with renewable energy sources for a 100% clean electricity grid while utilizing natural gas without atmospheric emissions. The Coyote Clean Power Project underscores the economic opportunity of the energy transition to a more carbon neutral environment for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, as it will entail hundreds of millions of dollars of capital investment and has the potential to create over one thousand direct and indirect clean energy jobs both on and off the Reservation. As the project moves forward, Coyote Clean Power expects to make a final investment decision in 2022 and production could begin by 2025.
“We are delighted to partner with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe on this clean power project, highlighting our collective leadership in the energy transition to a carbon neutral environment. The Coyote Clean Power Project’s affordable delivery of zero emissions power is unprecedented, and the project is a model for future deployments of this critical decarbonization tool” said, Damian Beauchamp, President at 8 Rivers and Board Member of NET Power.
Shane Seibel, Southern Ute Growth Fund Executive Director stated, “The Growth Fund is excited to partner with 8 Rivers, a leader in developing decarbonization technology, to progress the Coyote Clean Power Project to the next phase of development enabling the Southern Ute Indian Tribe to continue its leadership of energy development in Indian Country and to participate in solutions for transitioning to a carbon neutral environment by providing clean and affordable baseload power in Southwest Colorado.”
“The Southern Ute Indian Tribe is excited to begin the partnership with 8 Rivers, adding a new clean energy project to our business portfolio. Although 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,” stated Vice Chairman Bruce Valdez.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis stated, “Development of one of the world’s first zero-emission and water neutral power plants will lead to economic development and job growth while accelerating our transition to 100% clean electricity. We 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.”
Ron DeGregorio, CEO and Board Member of NET Power said, “The NET Power team is thrilled that 8 Rivers and the Southern Ute Growth Fund have selected our clean energy technology. The Coyote Clean Power Project represents one of the first of many future NET Power plants with the potential to eliminate carbon emissions and achieve net zero by the year 2050.”
The NET Power system utilizes the Allam-Fetvedt Cycle, combusting natural gas with oxygen, as opposed to air, and uses supercritical carbon dioxide as a working fluid to drive a turbine instead of steam. This eliminates all air emissions, including traditional pollutants and CO2, and inherently produces pipeline-quality CO2 that can be sequestered, all while operating at competitive cost and efficiency to traditional gas power plants.
PROJECT WEBSITE: www.Coyote.Energy
Southern Ute Growth Fund: The Southern Ute Indian Tribe Growth Fund operates and manages the Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s businesses and business investments. In this role, the Growth Fund oversees a significant portfolio of companies and investments in energy, real estate, and private equity. The Growth Fund’s headquarters are located in the heart of the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in Ignacio, Colorado. Since the Tribe created the Growth Fund in 2000, it has committed substantial capital to a broadening range of businesses and investments. In just eighteen years, the value of the Growth Fund’s holdings has grown substantially. Operations and assets are spread out over thirteen states and the Gulf of Mexico. For more information, please visit: www.sugf.com.
8 Rivers Capital, LLC is a Durham, NC-based firm leading the invention and commercialization of sustainable, infrastructure-scale technologies for the global energy transition. 8 Rivers is the inventor of the Allam-Fetvedt Cycle, a paradigm-changing net-zero power solution that was named ADIPEC’s “Breakthrough Technology of the Year 2018” and that is anticipated to form a cornerstone of the clean energy transition. 8 Rivers is also focusing on developing and deploying technologies for clean hydrogen and ammonia, direct air capture, retrofit carbon capture, sour gas sweetening, and space-based solar power. For more information, please visit: www.8Rivers.com.
NET Power, LLC: The mission of NET Power is to provide advanced clean energy to consumers worldwide by generating lower-cost power with zero emissions. NET Power is a clean energy technology company that promotes, develops, and licenses a proprietary process for efficiently generating electricity from natural gas while capturing all CO2 emissions. The firm’s revolutionary Allam-Fetvedt Cycle promises to enable the world to meet its climate goals without paying more for electricity. The company is co-owned by Exelon Generation, McDermott, 8 Rivers Capital, and Oxy Low Carbon Ventures (OLCV), a subsidiary of Occidental. For more information, please visit www.NETPower.com.