Carbon injection gets $126 million funding injection

Much like Russell Brand, it looks like the Department of Energy isn’t afraid of sharing the love. (Greenbang’s already noted its grant-dispersing frenzy here) It seems that there’s little the DoE isn’t prepared to fund in terms of renewable energy: hydro, solar, biofuels – a strategy that suggests it’s kind of prepared to kiss a lot of frogs in order to find its prince.

Today, it’s got its tongue down the throat of carbon capture – the technology which < href=”http://www.theglobalview.com/3072/carbon-capture-as-much-use-a-chocolate-teapot-greenpeace/”>Greenpeace picked out as a fat lot of use in stopping global warming earlier this week.

Nevertheless, the DoE is pressing ahead with the tech and financing a handful of projects to the tune of $126 million to the West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (WESTCARB) and the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP).

Apparently, the idea is to store one million tonnes of carbon in Ohio and California.

Here’s the whole skinny from the DoE:

The new projects will demonstrate the entire CO2 injection process — pre-injection characterization, injection process monitoring, and post-injection monitoring — for large scale injections of one million tons or more to test the ability of different geologic settings to permanently store CO2. DOE plans to invest $126.6 million in the two projects over the next 10 years, while the industry partners will provide $56.6 million in cost-shared funds to make these projects a success.

In the first stages of the projects, researchers will characterize the selected sites. Over the first 24 months, researchers and industry partners will complete the modeling, monitoring, and infrastructure improvements needed before CO2 can be injected. These efforts will establish a baseline for future monitoring after CO2 injection begins. Each project will then inject one million tons or more of CO2 into a regionally significant storage formation. After injection, investigators will monitor and model the fate of the CO2 to determine the effectiveness of the storage reservoir.

The latest projects to be awarded are outlined below:

Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) — The MRCSP, led by Battelle Memorial Laboratories, will demonstrate CO2 storage in the Mount Simon Sandstone. This geologic formation stretches from Kentucky through Ohio and has the potential to store more than 100 years of CO2 emissions from major point sources in the region. The MRCSP will inject approximately one million tons of CO2 from an ethanol production facility. In this area of Ohio, the Mount Simon formation is approximately 3,000 feet deep. The CO2 will be injected on the facility site, and MRCSP will be responsible for development of the infrastructure, operations, closure, and monitoring of the injected CO2. The MRCSP covers Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and Michigan.
Total Project Cost: $92,846,271
DOE Share: $61,096,271
Partner Share: $31,750,000

West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (WESTCARB) — The WESTCARB Partnership, led by the California Energy Commission, will conduct a geologic CO2 storage project in the San Joaquin Basin in Central California. The project will inject 1 million tons of CO2 over 4 years into deep (7,000+ feet) geologic formations below a 50-megawatt, zero-emission power plant in Kimberlina, CA. The Clean Energy Systems plant uses natural or synthesis gas in an oxyfuel system and produces a relatively pure stream of CO2. This CO2 will be compressed and injected into one of a number of potential storage formations below the surface of the plant. WESTCARB will develop, operate, and close the injection site as well as monitor the fate of the injected CO2. The WESTCARB Partnership includes California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii, and British Columbia.

Total Project Cost: $90,594,099
DOE Share: $65,606,584
Partner Share: $24,987,515