WA Parish Generating Station

{{Short description|Fossil Power Plant}}

{{use mdy dates|date=August 2019}}

{{Infobox power station

|name = W.A. Parish Generating Station

|image = W.A. Parish Generating Plant Aerial.jpg

|image_caption = W.A. Parish, seen from northwest of the facility

|country = United States

|location = Thompsons, Texas

| coordinates = {{Coord|29|28|34|N|95|38|0|W|region:US-TX_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

|owner = NRG Energy

|status = Operational

|th_fuel_primary = Coal

|th_fuel_secondary = Natural gas

|ps_cooling_source = Smithers Lake

|th_technology =

|ps_combined_cycle =

|ps_electrical_capacity= 3,653 MW

|ps_annual_generation=

|commissioned =

|decommissioned =

}}

The W.A. Parish Generating Station is a 3.65-gigawatt (3,653 MW), dual-fired power plant located near Thompsons, Texas. The station occupies a 4,664-acre site near Smithers Lake southwest of Houston in Fort Bend County and consists of two four-unit plants; one natural gas and the other coal (2,697 MW).{{cite web|url=http://www.powermag.com/texas-sets-record-for-gas-power-burn-still-barely-enough/|title=Texas Sets Record for Gas Power Burn, Still Barely Enough|publisher=Power Magazine|date=18 August 2015}} With a total installed capacity of 3,653 MW, it is the second largest conventional power station in the US, and supplies about fifteen percent of the energy in the Houston area.{{cite web |url=https://online.platts.com/PPS/P=m&s=1029337384756.1478827&e=1092414376630.634056602174080316/?artnum=200vh40u811t1F30702VSa_1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014172701/https://online.platts.com/PPS/P=m&s=1029337384756.1478827&e=1092414376630.634056602174080316/?artnum=200vh40u811t1F30702VSa_1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2016-10-14 |title=S&P Global : Platts : W.A. Parish Electric Generation Station, Thompson, Texas |website=Online.platts.com |accessdate=2017-04-03 }}{{Cite web |date=2022-05-09 |title=Coal unit catches fire at NRG's W.A. Parish Generating Station in Fort Bend County |url=https://abc13.com/power-plant-fire-nrg-wa-parish-generating-station-fort-bend-county-yu-jones-road-and-smithers-lake/11830712/ |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=ABC13 Houston |language=en}} NRG Energy owns and operates the plant.

The Powder River Basin supplies three 115-car trainloads worth of low-sulfur coal to units 5-8 or 36,000 tons daily.{{cite web |title=CenterPoint execs field questions about Sugar Land's Parish plant |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2004/03/01/newscolumn1.html |accessdate=2017-04-03 |website=Bizjournals.com}}{{cite web|url=https://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/2012/02/21/how-biggest-power-plant-in-texas-will-use-pollution-to-pump-oil/ |title=How the Biggest Power Plant in Texas Will Use Pollution to Pump Oil | StateImpact Texas |website=Stateimpact.npr.org |date=2012-02-21 |accessdate=2017-04-03}}

Completed in January 2017, the post-combustion{{cite web|url= https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/carbon-capture-suffers-a-huge-setback-as-kemper-plant-suspends-work |title=Carbon Capture Suffers a Huge Setback as Kemper Plant Suspends Work|publisher= |date= 2017-06-29 |accessdate= 2017-06-30 }} Petra Nova Carbon Capture Project became largest installed on an existing power plant in the world.{{cite web|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/world-s-largest-carbon-capture-plant-to-open-soon/ |title=World's Largest Carbon-Capture Plant to Open Soon |publisher=Scientific American |date=2016-10-04 |accessdate=2017-04-03}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nrg.com/generation/projects/petra-nova/ |title=Petra Nova Project| NRG Energy |website=Nrg.com |date= |accessdate=3 April 2017}} The system pumped 1.6 million tons of filtered carbon dioxide ({{CO2}}) from unit 8 to the West Ranch Oil Field 82 miles away in Jackson County.{{cite web|last=Kirk |first=Bryan |url=http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/fortbend/news/article/Parish-Power-Plant-takes-steps-to-clean-up-its-5729001.php |title=Parish Power Plant takes steps to clean up its operations in Fort Bend Count|website=Chron.com |date=2 September 2014 |accessdate=3 April 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://sequestration.mit.edu/tools/projects/wa_parish.html |title=Carbon Capture and Sequestration Technologies @ MIT |publisher=Sequestration.mit.edu |date= |accessdate=2022-09-17}} Since the system is powered by natural gas, it was originally expected to have a net effect of not releasing 785,000 tons of carbon annually.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/uciliawang/2014/07/15/nrgs-1b-bet-to-show-how-carbon-capture-could-be-feasible-for-coal-power-plants/2/#4487bdc5321b|last1=Wang|first1=Ucilia|title=NRG's $1B Bet To Show How Carbon Capture Could Be Feasible For Coal Power Plants|work=Forbes|date=15 July 2014}} The system cost approximately $1 billion,{{cite web|url=http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/NRG-begins-commerical-operations-of-1-billion-10848835.php| title=NRG begins commercial operations of $1 billion carbon capture system| author=Ryan Maye Handy| date=10 January 2017| access-date=21 December 2017| publisher=Houston Chronicle}} but was idled from May 2020 to September 2023 due to the low price of oil during the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite news |date=2020-08-06 |title=Problems plagued U.S. CO2 capture project before shutdown: document |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-energy-carbon-capture-idUSKCN2523K8 |access-date=2022-09-17}}{{Cite web |last=Patel |first=Sonal |date=2023-09-13 |title=Petra Nova, Pioneering Power Plant Carbon Capture Unit, Is Up and Running Again, says JX Nippon |url=https://www.powermag.com/petra-nova-pioneering-power-plant-carbon-capture-unit-is-up-and-running-again-says-jx-nippon/ |access-date=2023-09-27 |website=POWER Magazine |language=en-US}}

Adjacent to Parish Station is the natural gas Brazos Valley Power Plant owned by Calpine Energy which opened in 2003.{{cite web|author=Seshadri Kumar |url=http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/article/Brazos-Valley-power-plant-turns-on-lights-9804166.php |title=Brazos Valley power plant turns on lights |website=Chron.com |date=2004-04-05 |accessdate=2017-04-03}}