The following blog is reproduced with permission of Global CCS Institute
As one of the world’s leading energy producers, Canada takes seriously its responsibility to produce fossil energy cleanly and efficiently. As such, carbon capture and storage plays a key role in the country’s clean energy strategy. In recent years, federal and provincial governments have invested more than $3 billion into CCS and it is hoped that by 2050, CCS will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada by 600 to 700 million tonnes (Mt) per year.
Several provinces in Canada are making inroads into the development of CCS. Saskatchewan is home to one of the world‘s largest CCS sites, the Weyburn/Midale oilfield. Since 2000, Cenovus has been using CO2 for EOR and the site currently stores about 15 Mt of carbon dioxide. Also in Saskatchewan, SaskPower – with support from the Canadian and Saskatchewan governments – is moving forward with a $1.2 billion integrated CCS demonstration project at Boundary Dam Power Station.
In northern British Columbia, Spectra Energy is assessing the feasibility of developing a world-scale CCS project while in Nova Scotia, the CCS Research Consortium of Nova Scotia issued an RFP for a public awareness plan. The consortium plans to have a commercial scale CCS project online by 2020.
In Alberta, government is making a strong push to develop CCS technology. The province committed $2 billion to help start four large-scale CCS demonstration projects slated to go online by 2015. When in full swing, the projects are expected to capture and store 5 Mt of CO2 per year.
In 2009, a new national research network, Carbon Management Canada (CMC), was headquartered in Calgary – the city that‘s ground zero for Canada‘s energy industry. CMC is a federal Network of Centres of Excellence supported by the federal and Alberta governments as well as industry. Its purpose is to facilitate the innovation in technology, knowledge and human capacity necessary to help the upstream fossil energy industry reduce carbon emissions. CMC funds research and other projects within four strategic research areas, including carbon capture and secure carbon storage.
Public Acceptance is Key
As CCS moves ahead in Canada and around the world, the importance of public support for carbon storage projects cannot be overstated. In 2010 the Dutch government stopped Shell‘s CO2 storage project in Barendrecht because of strong public outcry. In Canada, CCS has not been without controversy.
In January 2011 a Saskatchewan couple released the results of an independent study that alleges links between high concentrations of CO2 in their soil to the Weyburn storage facility. The results of the study have been disputed and an independent performance assessment of the Weyburn CCS/EOR project is being spearheaded by IPAC-CO2, a not-for-profit established to develop the world‘s first standard for geological storage of CO2. Carbon Management Canada is funding a study of media, risk and risk communication that will examine press coverage of the alleged Weyburn leak.
On the other hand, planning for Quest, one of Alberta‘s four demonstration projects, has moved forward without controversy. One factor at play in public acceptance is certainly the location of Quest in Alberta‘s industrial heartland where people are used to oil and gas activity. But Shell has also made a serious effort to consult with the public – early and often.
With CCS poised to play a major role in the carbon reduction strategies of governments around the world, it would be well advised for planners to focus at least as much attention on listening to and addressing public concerns as they do developing the sites themselves.