Carbon Capture and Storage
Coal combustion for electricity generation produces carbon emissions. Currently, those emissions are released and trapped in the atmosphere. Advanced technologies can, however, capture the carbon before it is released, transport it via pipelines, and inject it underground for long-term storage. Before carbon capture and storage (CCS) can be applied on a large scale, policy needs to be developed to regulate pipeline and storage site location and clarify risk and liability.
Capture:
The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions is evaluating pre- and post-combustion capture technologies to determine remaining technological barriers and to develop up-to-date cost, performance, and availability assumptions.
We are using a modified version of the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) from the Energy Information Administration to forecast which existing power plants will likely retrofit with post-combustion capture technology and where new CCS plants will likely be located. This modeling effort will provide the starting points for our pipeline routing analysis. We will also include existing industrial sites favorable for carbon capture.
Storage:
We have developed a geologic model to estimate the feasible storage capacity and cost of all major geologic reservoirs in the United States. We are in the process of using this model to develop geographic-based carbon storage supply curves.
Pipeline Transport:
We are developing a geographic information system (GIS) model to determine optimal CO2 pipeline routes that will connect the plants we identify in our capture analysis discussed above with the best storage sites from our storage supply curve analysis.
We are also evaluating the existing legal and regulatory framework and how it may be applied to CO2 pipelines and storage. We will propose policies, if needed, to enable a pipeline and storage system.
Synthesis:
Ultimately, we will combine our three analytical components to develop cost estimates for a feasible CO2 capture, pipeline, and storage system. We expect to be able to make recommendations for policymakers about where and how to focus public investment.