Carbon-Neutral Gas Storage Facility Benefits from Waukesha's Rich-Burn Engines

The Katy Storage and Transportation (Katy) facility, owned by Enstor Gas, LLC (Enstor), became the first carbon-neutral gas storage facility in the nation.

To reduce baseline emissions, Enstor swapped out their lean-burn engines for rebuilt VHP Series Five engines from INNIO's Waukesha Engine. The remaining emissions are offset using carbon credits purchased through the American Carbon Registry.

This methodology meets the EPA’s standard for carbon neutrality and reduction of scope one and scope two emissions. Enstor is proud that these reductions will also benefit Katy customers and reduce their scope three emissions. 

Multiple technologies were evaluated for emission reductions, but ultimately the VHP Series Five was chosen for its ability to reduce about 90% of methane in the exhaust (as compared to their original lean-burn engines) and reduce CO2e intensity by about 20%. Traditionally, a rich-burn engine would have consumed more fuel than a lean-burn engine, but Enstor took advantage of the VHP Series Five Miller Cycle which keeps fuel consumption on par with a comparative lean-burn engine.

The nine Waukesha VHP lean-burn engines at Katy were swung through Waukesha Engine’s reUp Remanufacturing Program. Rebuilt VHP Series Five engines have the same footprint and will be placed into the same location as the existing engines.

Enstor did not have to choose between profitability or lower emissions. They achieved both simultaneously.

The reUp program reduces the environmental impact of manufacturing new engines, while enabling new engine technology and performance to benefit existing operations. Reducing environmental impacts can be a costly endeavor, but Enstor is leading the way forward and showing that it can be completed while remaining profitable.

The reUp program allowed Katy to upgrade to the latest technologies while reusing their existing infrastructure, compressors and most of the existing package. The VHP Series Five engine can reduce CO2e output while also lowering operating expenses with longer service intervals. Enstor did not have to choose between profitability or lower emissions, they achieved both simultaneously.

This project was funded in part by the State of Texas through a New Technology Implementation Grant Program (NTIG) from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.