The Big Sky region enjoys some of the lowest cost electricity in the country, produced largely through hydropower and regionally mined coal. Continued access to affordable power is critical to the region’s ability to attract new businesses and jobs. Because coal is abundant in the region and because other large-scale power generation options such as hydroelectric have reached near maximum capacity, coal and gasified or liquefied products of coal will play an increasingly important role in supplying electricity to regional markets. However, given the uncertain regulatory environment regarding carbon dioxide, managers must consider planning a future energy base that supports a carbon-constrained economy. The ability to site future fossil fuel based power plants and industrial facilities could require carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions mitigation through CO2 capture and subsurface storage or through using carbon offsets and terrestrial carbon sequestration. Access to carbon dioxide buyers and geologic storage sites will likely become critical to the economic viability of future industrial sites.
The Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership’s (BSCSP's) vision is to prepare its member organizations for a possible carbon-constrained economy and enable the region to cleanly utilize its abundant fossil energy resources and sequestration sinks to support future energy demand and economic growth. The BSCSP will achieve this vision by demonstrating and validating the region’s most promising sequestration technologies and creating the supporting infrastructure required to deploy commercial scale carbon sequestration projects. This supporting infrastructure includes a geographic information system (GIS)-based economic and risk assessment tool to help determine optimal energy development strategies, regulatory and permitting approaches, and enhanced public understanding and acceptance. The infrastructure also includes a robust outreach program that trains scientists and engineers, and communicates the contribution carbon sequestration technologies and the BSCSP can make to the region’s clean energy future.
Carbon Sequestration Opportunities: Phase II
The BSCSP will propose to build on the work conducted in Phase I with a focus on geologic and terrestrial field validation tests that assess the relative efficiency of alternative sequestration options, prove the environmental efficacy and sustainability of sequestration, verify regional CO2 sequestration capacities and satisfy project permitting and regulatory requirements. Data from validation tests will be integrated into a GIS tool that will assist industry and regional planners to optimize energy development strategies. The BSCSP will also conduct extensive public outreach and education and training opportunities for students and young professionals. The following outlines BSCSP’s approach to Phase II.
Geologic Sequestration
The BSCSP region has a range of geologic sites for CO2 storage including depleted oil reservoirs, deep unminable coal seams, carbonate saline aquifers, and mafic volcanic (basalt) formations (a distinguishing feature of the region’s geology). In Phase II, the BSCSP will propose the following: |
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Conduct two geologic demonstration projects in prominent geological formations located throughout the region – mafic rock formations and sedimentary rock hosted saline aquifers. The BSCSP will characterize and test mineral trapping mechanisms in order to determine the flow and migration of CO2 in the reservoirs and predict its long term fate. It will also determine each test site’s operational needs, permitting, regulatory and monitoring requirements, and quantify economic offset opportunities such as enhanced oil recovery and coal bed methane production. |
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Update and complete the region’s Carbon Atlas, a geoportal for exploring spatially distributed information on CO2 point source emissions, geologic storage sites (characterization and CO2 storage capacity), and any supporting transportation infrastructure. Additionally, the Atlas will incorporate economic data to optimize decision support for energy development in the region. |
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Develop a national mafic rock atlas and assess the sequestration potential of these rocks through modeling studies, laboratory testing, and insights developed from mafic rock pilot projects. Of potential economic interest to Big Sky industrial partners is that the majority of this mafic formation lies relatively close to the West Coast power load. |
Terrestrial Sequestration
The BSCSP region has extensive land mass that provides tremendous potential for greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets through terrestrial carbon sequestration in forests, range lands, and agricultural crop lands. In Phase II, the BSCSP will propose to: |
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Conduct pilot projects to demonstrate and validate the technical and economic feasibility of the major terrestrial carbon sinks, implement monitoring and verification protocols, and assess the impacts to existing ecosystems. |
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Complete the regional GIS carbon atlas to provide spatially referenced information on terrestrial carbon sequestration potentials, land use practices, and potential co-benefits of changes in land-use management practices. |
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Develop protocols for terrestrial carbon contracts that could be used in a market-based carbon emissions reductions credit market or in other government-sponsored programs. |
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Implement a terrestrial offset project in conjunction with one or more coal mines and coal-fired power generator(s) to test selected monitoring, measurement and verification protocols and standards. |
Outreach and Education
Public acceptance of carbon sequestration technologies and the operational capacity to deploy them is critical to the ability of (1) the BSCSP to successfully implement its proposed Phase II validation tests, (2) industry to commercialize sequestration technologies and (3) the region to economically and cleanly meet future energy demand. Therefore, the BSCSP will propose the following outreach and education activities: |
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Establish the Big Sky Energy Future Coalition that brings together industry, academia, environmental non-governmental organizations and regulatory and governmental officials bi-yearly to build dialogue on the role carbon sequestration can play in providing a technology solution to the region’s energy requirements. |
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Support professional development activities focused on science and engineering issues associated with carbon sequestration. |
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In support of project demonstrations, organize public events that help meet regulatory, environmental and permitting requirements and build public confidence and acceptance. |
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Hold Congressional forums and utilize media networks to inform policy makers and industry of carbon sequestration’s potential to support regional clean energy development. |
Energy is Not an Optional Commodity
Reliable and affordable energy supplies are linked with economic growth and prosperity – it is not an optional commodity. Energy fuels transportation and is a major input into food production; it powers industry, small businesses, homes and schools; it enables use of computers, appliance and the internet. Growing populations and economies worldwide will demand more energy. Meeting this tremendous demand while balancing economic, social and environmental considerations require all energy technologies and they must be harnessed as efficiently and cleanly as possible.
Burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) for transportation, electricity generation and industrial processes emits pollutants, particulate matter and greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere and causes changes in regional and global climate. By far the most abundant GHG is carbon dioxide (CO2). The critical challenge is transforming the world's massive, capital-intensive fossil energy system to achieve GHG stabilization without impacting the environment or the abilities of economies to grow and prosper.
Advanced technology offers a solution to this challenge. Research and development (R&D) efforts in the BSCSP region and worldwide are addressing the problem through new low and zero-carbon technologies including efficiency, renewables, advanced nuclear, hydrogen and carbon sequestration.
Carbon sequestration refers to a suite of technologies that remove CO2 directly from stationary sources of CO2 such as power plants and factories for storage in large geologic reservoirs such as depleted oil and gas reservoirs, deep coal seams or saline and basalt formations. CO2 from the atmosphere can also be stored naturally in terrestrial ecosystems. Through photosynthesis, CO2 is converted to organic matter, some of which is retained as carbon. Certain land management practices can reduce CO2 emissions and store carbon which improves land and water quality.
Key Issues
Assuring the environmental acceptability and safety of CO2 storage in geologic formations is a key issue and is a major component of the research being done worldwide. Determining that CO2 will not escape from geologic formations or contaminate drinking water supplies is essential. Although much work is needed to better understand and characterize sequestration of CO2 in geologic formations, researchers are building on the significant baseline of information and experience that exists. Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is conducting an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
Both terrestrial and geologic sequestration sites must be assessed for their carbon storage potential, designed to maximize storage and minimize loss, and validated over time. In addition to measuring carbon at the project level, it is important to measure other GHG fluxes such at methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) at regional, national and international scales in order to understand overall net impacts.
Technologies exist to measure and model carbon and GHG fluxes but measurement systems that are readily applicable to large geologic formations, fields and watersheds with differing land uses and weather conditions do not exist. Therefore, measurement systems that can establish project baselines and measure carbon storage and GHG fluxes on large-scale must be developed and made commercially available. Furthermore, measurement protocols that are acceptable, both domestically and internationally must be developed.
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