The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced last Thursday that $20 million will be distributed between four regional projects focused on carbon capture, utlization and storage (CCUS).
Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said: “Through the DOE’s Regional Initiatives projects, we are making sure states—especially those with historic ties to fossil fuel industries—can access technology innovations to abate carbon pollution and enhance their local economies so that no worker or workforce is left behind.”
All four of the regional initiatives are led by universities and connect NGOs, scientists, industry leaders and state authorities. Each project is set to receive an equal amount from the fundin and will promote connections that span data collection, infrastructure evaluation and facilitating regional transfers of technology. The four projects are:
- Southern States Energy Board (Peachtree Corners, GA) are aiming to find 50 sites across the Southeast states that can be used for different phases of carbon CCUS projects.
- Battelle Memorial Institute (Columbus, OH) will be looking across 20 states in the Midwest and North east, with three basins in the Arches province the focus of its attention.
- University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center (Grand Forks, ND) is leading the Plains CO2 Reduction project in 13 Northwest states and four Canadian provinces to identify and address onshore regional storage and transport challenges facing the commercial deployment of CCUS in an expanded region.
- New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (Socorro, NM) is leading the Carbon Utilization and Storage Partnership in 15 Western states that collect and compile geologic datasets that identify CO2 storage resources and find data issues.
The DOE has announced several rounds of financing for carbon capture projects. The latest one was $45 million aimed at project that focus on decarbonizing natural gas power and industrial sectors, as well as direct air capture.
Relevant: Direct Air Capture Given $12 Million Funding Boost By DOE
Those projects had a threshold of at least 95% captured carbon dioxide from natural gas power, which produce steel and cement. The projects in that group were more engineering-focused and are also part of the White House’s toolset to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and a fully green electricity sector by 2035.
That goal however has been put into doubt by Senator Joe Manchin’s refusal to back the clean energy bill put forward by the Biden administration.
Read more about the clean energy battle: The Clean Electricity Plan Rejected, Next In Line – Carbon Tax?
