U.S. Carbon Capture and Storage Projects See Slow Development and Cancellations

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Carbon capture and storage (CCS) (also called carbon capture and sequestration) is a technology that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) from burning coal or gas for power generation, as well as the production of steel, cement and other industrial goods. The CO2 produced through fuel combustion is then transported by either pipeline or ship, for safe and permanent underground storage, preventing it from entering the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring gas and has been safely transported, injected for enhanced oil recovery, and stored in underground reservoirs for decades. As of 2012, there were four industrial-scale CCS projects operating worldwide, storing 5 million tons of CO2 each year. The Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute (GCCSI) (Canberra, Australia) has identified 75 large-scale integrated projects globally, which are expected to capture 35.4 million tons per year.

Major hurdles still remain for the technology and are jeopardizing the U.S. government's ability to develop the technology for large-scale deployment, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) (Washington D.C.). The CRS report said that the high costs, technical complexities and incomplete regulatory framework, as well as mismanagement of the program, could undermine efforts to advance the technology, threating widespread deployment in the U.S.

Several CCS projects in the U.S. already have been shelved, citing high costs, an uncertain regulatory environment and inability to attract private investment.

Currently, Industrial Info is tracking four CCS projects being developed in North America: the Boundary Dam Power Station CCS demonstration project and the Shand Power Station CCS test facility both owned by SaskPower (Regina, Saskatchewan); the Bow City Power Station, a 1,000-megawatt, coal-fired power plant with integrated CCS owned by Bow City Power Limited (Calgary, Alberta); and the Kemper County TRIGCC Power Plant in Mississippi, owned by Southern Company (NYSE:SO) (Atlanta, Georgia).

Construction already has begun at the Boundary Dam project, which is valued at $1.24 billion; the Shand project, which is valued at $60 million; and the Kemper County project, which is valued at $2.88 billion. The remaining Bow City project, valued at $3.2 billion, remains in early development.

CCS projects that were being developed but have now been shelved were at the James M. Barry Power Station in Alabama, owned by Southern Company; the Antelope Valley Power Station in North Dakota, owned by Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Bismark, North Dakota); the Mountaineer Power Plant in West Virginia, owned by American Electric Power Company Incorporated (NYSE:AEP) (Columbus, Ohio); and the FutureGen Power Plant in Matoon, Illinois, owned by the FuturGen Alliance (Jacksonville, Illinois).

For more information, see January 30, 2013, article - Inside Power: Environmental Regulations and Coal-Fired Power Generation - The State of Play.

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