The Carbon Storage Three-Legged Stool to Facilitate Deployment

This chapter presents a methodology for estimating carbon sequestration and storage (i.e., change in storage over time) on a landscape and the social value of the sequestration process. It presents two approaches for estimating carbon sequestration and storage on a landscape. In the simpler tier 1 approach, carbon storage is a function of land use and land cover (LULC), and sequestration is given by the difference in storage at two points in time. Carbon sequestration is not accounted for in a parcel of land unless its LULC changes or it is subject to harvest of wood. In the more complex tier 2 model, carbon storage in a parcel of land is a function of its LULC, the age of its LULC, and its previous LULC. Carbon sequestration is accounted for even if LULC or land management does not change over time, such as when a forest accumulates carbon in its standing biomass due to tree growth. The chapter illustrates both of these approaches with examples from Tanzania and the United States, and also demonstrates a method for determining the economic value of sequestration using the social cost of carbon.

U.S. DOE's R&D Program to Develop Infrastructure for Carbon Storage: Overview of the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships and other R&D Field Projects

Summary The Carbon Utilization and Storage Partnership of the Western United States (CUSP) is one of four regional Initiatives created by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in late 2019. The four initiatives were formed as a continuation of work performed under the DOE Regional Carbon Storage Partnership program (RCSP) which mapped, studied, and performed storage demonstration projects in seven regions in the USA and Canada, each culminating in a ∼1 million tonne demonstration project. These original storage partnerships ( Figure 1 ) proved storage technologies and contributed to best practices for monitoring, and accounting for stored CO2 between 2003, and 2022 in the United States and Canada. Each of the new initiatives covers a portion of the United States ( Figure 2 ) and is tasked with compiling and analysing data to better understand the complex interrelationships of CO2 sources, potential sinks, and transportation pathways in their respective regions. In addition, modelling efforts to discern optimized pathways and projects within the four regions are designed to leverage and build upon the success of the RCSP program and to apply information learned from within the RCSP’s to accelerate and develop commercial storage projects.

Natural Ocean Alkalinity for Carbon Storage — Natural Engineering Method Practice

The Carbon Storage Atlas contains the following sections: (1) Introduction to CCS; (2) DOE’s Carbon Storage Activities; (3) National Perspectives; (4) Large-Scale Field Projects; (5) Small-Scale Field Projects; and (6) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Site Characterization Projects. The Introduction to CCS section is an overview of CCS. The DOE’s Carbon Storage Activities section is a summary of CCS activities including information on DOE’s Carbon Capture and Storage Programs, NETL’s Research and Development, DOE’s Systems Analysis Activities, and DOE’s Interagency and Global Collaborations, and Knowledge Sharing Efforts. The National Perspectives section contains maps showing the number, location, and magnitude of CO2 stationary sources in the United States and other portions of North America, as well as the areal extent and estimated CO2 prospective storage resource available in RCSP-evaluated geologic formations. The Large-Scale Field Projects section provides detailed information on various aspects of the large-scale injections conducted by the RCSPs. The Small-Scale Field Projects and Site Characterization Projects sections provide summaries of field project activities that augment the efforts of the large-scale field projects.

Shell is progressing a portfolio of commercial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration projects covering an array of technologies that target applications of close relevance to the wider oil and gas industry. The portfolio includes projects such as Peterhead, Quest, Technology Centre Mongstad and Gorgon. A number of key learnings on both the technology deployment and critical project development aspects for the different project phases have been obtained. This paper provides an overview of these learnings with a specific focus on the issues faced by CCS project developers. CCS is currently recognised as the only technology available for mitigation of carbon emissions from large-scale fossil fuel use. Before the process can be widely adopted it must be demonstrated at scale end-to-end. Learnings for all different project phases from early assess through to operations of these demonstrators need to be captured and communicated. As additional facilities to existing hydrocarbon operations, CCS projects require an approach similar to the development of other oil and gas projects. To help enable and support other CCS projects, Shell is also committed to knowledge sharing from the projects, often agreed as part of the Knowledge Management provisions of the projects. One of the key observations provided from the demonstration portfolio is the need for regular and informative engagement with both the public and regulators as the project progresses. Early and successful demonstrations can provide the evidence required for regulators, project developers and the public to have the confidence to proceed with future CCS projects. It is also recognised that cost reduction will be key in driving commercial ‘deployability’ of CCS. The Quest and Peterhead projects are ideally placed to enable follow-on projects to learn and further reduce costs. The Shell portfolio of projects has also demonstrated that the drivers for technology optimisation can differ depending on the end user of the CCS technology. There is a need to demonstrate different technology aspects, for example flexibility or availability. This talk will focus on how these issues are being addressed in two of the different projects within the Shell CCS portfolio, and highlight the key lessons learned. Furthermore, the cost-related issues of CCS will be addressed.

Financing carbon capture and storage projects the results of two expert meetings

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) refers to a set of technologies that can greatly reduce carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) emissions from new and existing coal- and gas-fired power plants, industrial processes, and other stationary sources of CO{sub 2}. In its application to electricity generation, CCS could play an important role in achieving national and global greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals. However, widespread cost-effective deployment of CCS will occur only if the technology is commercially available and a supportive national policy framework is in place. In keeping with that objective, on February 3, 2010, President Obama established an Interagency Task Force on Carbon Capture and Storage composed of 14 Executive Departments and Federal Agencies. The Task Force, co-chaired by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was charged with proposing a plan to overcome the barriers to the widespread, cost-effective deployment of CCS within ten years, with a goal of bringing five to ten commercial demonstration projects online by 2016. Composed of more than 100 Federal employees, the Task Force examined challenges facing early CCS projects as well as factors that could inhibit widespread commercial deployment of CCS. In developing the findings and recommendations outlined in this report, the Task Force relied on published literature and individual input from more than 100 experts and stakeholders, as well as public comments submitted to the Task Force. The Task Force also held a large public meeting and several targeted stakeholder briefings. While CCS can be applied to a variety of stationary sources of CO{sub 2}, its application to coal-fired power plant emissions offers the greatest potential for GHG reductions. Coal has served as an important domestic source of reliable, affordable energy for decades, and the coal industry has provided stable and quality high-paying jobs for American workers. At the same time, coal-fired power plants are the largest contributor to U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and coal combustion accounts for 40 percent of global carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) emissions from the consumption of energy. EPA and Energy Information Administration (EIA) assessments of recent climate and energy legislative proposals show that, if available on a cost-effective basis, CCS can over time play a large role in reducing the overall cost of meeting domestic emissions reduction targets. By playing a leadership role in efforts to develop and deploy CCS technologies to reduce GHG emissions, the United States can preserve the option of using an affordable, abundant, and domestic energy resource, help improve national security, help to maximize production from existing oil fields through enhanced oil recovery (EOR), and assist in the creation of new technologies for export. While there are no insurmountable technological, legal, institutional, regulatory or other barriers that prevent CCS from playing a role in reducing GHG emissions, early CCS projects face economic challenges related to climate policy uncertainty, first-of-a-kind technology risks, and the current high cost of CCS relative to other technologies. Administration analyses of proposed climate change legislation suggest that CCS technologies will not be widely deployed in the next two decades absent financial incentives that supplement projected carbon prices. In addition to the challenges associated with cost, these projects will need to meet regulatory requirements that are currently under development. Long-standing regulatory programs are being adapted to meet the circumstances of CCS, but limited experience and institutional capacity at the Federal and State level may hinder implementation of CCS-specific requirements. Key legal issues, such as long-term liability and property rights, also need resolution. A climate policy designed to reduce our Nation's GHG emissions is the most important step for commercial deployment of low-carbon technologies such as CCS, because it will create a stable, long-term framework for private investments. A concerted effort to properly address financial, economic, technological, legal, institutional, and social barriers will enable CCS to be a viable climate change mitigation option that can over time play an important role in reducing the overall cost of meeting domestic and global emissions reduction targets. Federal and State agencies can use existing authorities and programs to begin addressing these barriers while ensuring appropriate safeguards are in place to protect the environment and public health and safety.

Sea-level rise enhances carbon accumulation in United States tidal wetlands

Rapid industrialization and urbanization in the 20th century have led to increasing volumes of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere[...]

Temperate forests have a strong carbon sink capacity, although the future of this ecosystem service is uncertain in the eastern United States in light of widespread changes affecting succession. This study quantified aboveground carbon accumulation and storage in a southeastern Pennsylvania forest fragment, while assessing whether carbon storage capacity will be supported in the future. Six 0.2 ha plots were censused in 2013 and 2018 for living tree and dead wood carbon storage, as well as tree species composition. Three plots were in a 100-year-old forest, while the remainder were in a 200-year-old forest. Living tree carbon storage increased significantly over time (p 60 cm). Compositional data suggest decreased future canopy tree diversity, with the native Fagus grandifolia and nonnative Acer platanoides dominating forest understories. While there is high living tree carbon storage capacity, the dead wood pool will increase over time as many large trees die. Intervention to augment regeneration and maintain sink strength in the 200-year-old forest is needed. Action to limit the spread of A. platanoides and increase native regeneration throughout the forest will support forest resilience and long-term carbon storage capacity. Assessments of understory conditions are critical in supporting forests' carbon sink capacity into the future.

Fire risk and carbon storage are related environmental issues because fire reduction results in carbon storage through the buildup of woody vegetation, and stored carbon is a fuel for fires. The sustainability of the U.S. carbon sink and the extent of fire activity in the next 100 yr depend in part on the type and effectiveness of fire reduction employed. Previous studies have bracketed the range of dynamics from continued fire reduction to the complete failure of fire reduction activities. To improve these estimates, it is necessary to explicitly account for fire reduction in terrestrial models. A new fire reduction submodel that estimates the spatiotemporal pattern of reduction across the United States was developed using gridded data on biomass, climate, land-use, population, and economic factors. To the authors’ knowledge, it is the first large-scale, gridded fire model that explicitly accounts for fire reduction. The model was calibrated to 1° × 1° burned area statistics [Global Burnt Area 2000 Project (GBA-2000)] and compared favorably to three important diagnostics. The model was then implemented in a spatially explicit ecosystem model and used to analyze 1620 scenarios of future fire risk and fire reduction strategies. Under scenarios of climate change and urbanization, burned area and carbon emissions both increased in scenarios where fire reduction efforts were not adjusted to match new patterns of fire risk. Fuel reducing management strategies reduced burned area and fire risk, but also limited carbon storage. These results suggest that to promote carbon storage and minimize fire risk in the future, fire reduction efforts will need to be increased and spatially adjusted and will need to employ a mixture of fuel-reducing and non-fuel-reducing strategies.

Transformation technologies for CO2 utilisation: Current status, challenges and future prospects

The article considers the possibilities of developing forest entrepreneurship through expanding the range of ecosystem services and organizing sequestration Inustry on forest lands. The new type of forest management is based on the ability to balance carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. The economic aspects of creating and using forest carbon farms are considered. To determine the standard costs for creating poplar and pine carbon plantations, the standard method was used. Creating carbon farms on forest land is a costly process, but carbon storage activities can bring numerous economic and environmental effects in addition to maintaining the carbon balance. The cost of creating one hectare of forest carbon farm is from 262 to 304 thousand rubles, while the economic effect of their use can significantly exceed the investment. The first stage in the organization of carbon farms should be the creation of test plantations-carbon polygons. It is proved that the necessary resources and prerequisites are available for the implementation of the actual practice-oriented task of creating carbon polygons in the Voronezh region.

The climate system is changing globally, and there is substantial evidence that subsea permafrost and gas hydrate reservoirs are melting in high-latitude regions of the Earth, resulting in large volumes of CO2 (from organic carbon deposits) and CH4 (from gas hydrate reserves) venting into the atmosphere. Here, we propose the formation of flue gas hydrates in permafrost regions and marine sediments for both the geological storage of CO2 and the secondary sealing of CH4/CO2 release in one simple process, which could greatly reduce the cost of CO2 capture and storage (CCS). The kinetics of flue gas hydrate formation inside frozen and unfrozen sediments was investigated under realistic conditions using a highly accurate method and a well-characterized system. The results are detailed over a wide range of temperatures and different pressures at in situ time scales. It has been found that more than 92 mol % of the CO2 present in the injected flue gas could be captured under certain conditions. The effect of different relevant parameters on the kinetics of hydrate formation has been discussed, and compelling evidence for crystal-structure changes at high pressures has been observed. It has also been found that temperature rise leads to the release of N2 first, with the retention of CO2 in hydrates, which provides a secondary safety factor for stored CO2 in the event of a sudden temperature increase.