Demonstration Facility

Kimberlina Power Plant

Clean Energy Systems' Kimberlina Power Plant (KPP) is the world largest oxy-fuel combustion test facility. This former 5 MWe biomass power plant is now host to most of CES' testing and demonstration equipment. It is laid out primarily for R&D, sub-commercial, and commercial operations and today is home to:

  • DSGG400 20 MWt Gas Generator
  • DSGG1200 200 MWt Gas Generator
  • 5 MWe Steam Turbine Zero Emission Power Cycle; Suitable for Continuous Operations, Capturing 1,500 Mscfd CO2
  • CES OFT-J79 30 MWe Expander Turbine
  • CES OFT-900 150 MWe Expander Turbine
  • CES 28 MWt Reheat Combustor
  • Full-Scale Oxy Combustion Reheater Test Bed
  • Dedicated Heat Exchanger Test Bed
  • Gas Generator and Steam Separator commercial scale test bed

Technology Development

Clean Energy Systems (“CES”) was founded in 1996 by a team of experts from the aerospace and chemical engineering fields to develop ground breaking oxy-combustion technology for the energy market. In the Company’s initial years, the founding team developed CES’ unique IP portfolio, which would turn into over 25 patents issued for CES hardware and systems over the next decade, and also identified opportunities to deploy the technology into the broader energy market.

By 2000, the CES team was ready to test and prove the viability of their new technology to produce clean power. Funded by the California Energy Commission, CES was able to fabricate and test a proof of their new gas generator, which was capable of generating 110 kWt of steam and CO2. Soon after, CES received federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to fabricate and test a small commercial gas generator (the oxy-fuel combustor) capable of producing 20 MWt of steam and CO2.

During the mid-2000s, Clean Energy Systems worked towards developing a larger pilot study to demonstrate their capabilities. With funding provided primarily by the California Energy Commission, CES was able to retrofit a biomass power plant, known as Kimberlina, located in Bakersfield, California. This facility became the Company’s specialized test facility and has continued to grow to accommodate new technology development by CES over the years. The Kimberlina test facility would serve as the Company’s primary demonstration site for the 20 MWt gas generator. Within one year, Kimberlina had logged more than 300 starts and 1,300 hours of operation, becoming the world's first non-polluting fossil fueled (natural gas) power plant.

After the successful start-up at Kimberlina, CES began to work on several other projects and improvements. The first was a syngas combustor capable of operation with coal, biomass, and other syngas feedstocks, including low-btu fuels such as high CO2-content gas. CES also made modifications to permit the use of liquid feedstocks and slurries of pulverized solid carbonaceous fuels.

CES also performed a series of test using produced water, instead of clean boiler quality water, directly injected into the direct steam gas generator as a diluent. The resulting stream of saturated steam and water was sent through a cyclone separator (AKA steam separator) creating a clean stream of saturated steam and low volume of brine. These tests demonstrated the DSGG’s ability to reliably run with synthetic and actual produced water with TDS values averaging 1,800 ppm.

CES has worked to grow its technology offerings, including modifying an existing GE J-79 gas turbine into a hot gas expander turbine, suitable for operation in oxy-fuel power cycles (i.e., the oxy-fuel turbine (OFT). The OFT-J79 was installed and successfully tested at Kimberlina by CES, where the turbine operated at significantly increased power with the CES oxy-combustor providing a primarily steam-based drive gas; representing the first oxy-powered turbine!

CES later received federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop an industrial-scale oxy-fuel turbine. Known as the OFT-900, this oxy-fuel turbine is derived from a Siemens gas turbine (SGT-900). Kimberlina was upgraded to be able to handle the increased fuel, oxygen, de-mineralized water, and more requirements for this larger, 150 MWe expander commercial-scale turbine. Working with partners, the OFT-900 was successfully demonstrated at low-power levels in 2013 again using the CES DSGG to provide the drive gas (steam and CO2). 

The OFT-900 program also included the development of a new type of oxy-combustor, known as an oxy-fuel reheater, to boost temperatures of the steam-based to the desired inlet temperatures of the newly modified OFT. CES’ engineering was able to successfully design, build, and test a 28 MWt reheater that met or exceeded all design requirements. Eight reheaters were manufactured for install and operation in the OFT-900 at the Kimberlina site.

Today, CES works closely with its customers and development partners to deploy it’s proven oxy-fuel technology into projects around the world, while continuing to advance its next-generation technology platforms. Clean Energy Systems has an extensive track record of engineering and developing cutting-edge technology, and the Company continues to be a leader in making Power without Pollution a reality!